100 Per Cent Renewable Energy Autonomy in Action

100% Renewable — Edited by Peter Droege
234mm x 156mm trim size — PPC hardback — Spine width: 31mm — ISBN 978-1-84407-718-2
100% RENEWABLE
‘This inspiring book is long overdue. It tackles The greatest challenge of our time is to build a
an essential question for human survival in the world based on the sustainable use of renewable
21st century: will we be able to transform our power. Our massive dependence on fossil fuels
lives, businesses, buildings, settlements and has upset the very climatic system that made
the transport networks connecting them from human evolution possible. The global economy
unsustainable, oil-based and greenhouse-gas- and its financial system are in jeopardy, running
emitting into sustainable, fossil-fuel-free, zero- hot on overtly cheap yet increasingly costly and
carbon metabolisms? This important volume and fast depleting oil. A 100% renewable world is
its two dozen contributors show that this path is seen by many as an impossible dream in anything
necessary, practical and affordable. Read this but the very long term. But not only do a growing
book: its exciting, fresh insights will show you number of initiatives and plans dare to make the
how to move from promise to practice.’ change but many have already achieved it.
Marco Keiner
Director, Environment, Housing and Land This rich collection presents a series of pioneering
Management Division, United Nations efforts and their champions, and the paths to their
Economic Commission for Europe successes. Ranging from initiatives by individuals
to visions for companies, communities and entire
‘100% renewable was always more than a Moon countries, it defeats tired economic and technical
Shot or a Manhattan Project as we just could counter-arguments, showing how the schemes
not imagine how it could ever happen. Suddenly featured not only can and do work but do so
it’s all come together, as Peter Droege and his economically and with available technology. The
authors have shown.’ book is introduced by incisive writing by Peter
Peter Newman Droege, explaining the challenges and framing a
Professor of Sustainability, Curtin roadmap towards a 100% renewable reality.
University, Australia, and author of
Resilient Cities Peter Droege is Professor and Chair of Urban
Sustainability, Climate and Planning Education
‘As he has in the past, Peter Droege has produced at the University of Liechtenstein, and Conjoint
an important and timely new book on how we Professor, Faculty of Engineering at the University
shift away from our current energy path. The of Newcastle, Australia. He chairs the World Council
challenges are immense, but these scholarly for Renewable Energy for Asia Pacific.
Peter Droege
Edited by
essays provide a roadmap for delivering

fundamental change in the way we bring new Companion website: www.100-percent.org
energy technologies to market.’
Stephen Hammer
Director, Urban Energy Program, Columbia
University Center for Energy, Marine
Transportation and Public Policy, USA
Environment / Energy
Earthscan strives to minimize

www.earthscan.co.uk its impact on the environment
3474 EARTHSCAN 100% Renewable:Layout 1 21/9/09 12:24 Page i
100% Renewable
3474 EARTHSCAN 100% Renewable:Layout 1 21/9/09 12:24 Page ii
3474 EARTHSCAN 100% Renewable:Layout 1 21/9/09 12:24 Page iii
100% Renewable
Energy Autonomy in Action
Edited by
Peter Droege
London • Sterling, VA
3474 EARTHSCAN 100% Renewable:Layout 1 21/9/09 12:24 Page iv
First published by Earthscan in the UK and USA in 2009
Editorial © Peter Droege, 2009

Chapters 1–17 © authors as listed on pages vii–viii, 2009
All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-1-84407-718-2
Typeset by FiSH Books

Cover design by Rogue 4 Design (concept by Anis Radzi)
For a full list of publications please contact:

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

100 per cent renewable : energy autonomy in action / edited by Peter Droege.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84407-718-2 (hardback)
1. Renewable energy sources. I. Droege, Peter. II. Title: One hundred per cent renewable.
TJ808.A15 2009
333.79’4—dc22
2009018125
At Earthscan we strive to minimize our environmental impacts and carbon footprint through
reducing waste, recycling and offsetting our CO2 emissions, including those created through
publication of this book. For more details of our environmental policy, see www.earthscan.co.uk.
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3474 EARTHSCAN 100% Renewable:Layout 1 21/9/09 12:24 Page v
Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 per

cent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean
carbon-free sources within ten years. This goal is achievable,
affordable and transformative.
Al Gore, Constitution Hall, Washington DC,
17 July 2008
This is absolutely nothing to do with emissions trading, this is

about getting on and doing it. You cannot tackle climate change
by trading, you have to actually do things.
Allan Jones, London Climate Agency, about his work for
Woking Borough Council, on Australia’s ABC Radio National,
26 July 2008
We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars
and run our factories.
President Barack Hussein Obama, inauguration speech,
20 January 2009
Our survival will very much depend on how well we were able to
draw down CO2 to 280 parts per million.
Hans-Josef Schellnhuber, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts
Research in Germany, quoted by Gaia Vince in the
New Scientist,
25 February 2009
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3474 EARTHSCAN 100% Renewable:Layout 1 21/9/09 12:24 Page vii
Contents
List of figures, tables and boxes ix

List of contributors xiv
List of acronyms and abbreviations xxii
1 100% Renewable Energy: The Essential Target 1

Peter Droege
2 Institutions for a 100% Renewable World 49
Hermann Scheer
3 The Renewable Imperative: Providing Climate Protection
and Energy Security 57
Hans-Josef Fell
4 100% is Possible Now 71
Harry Lehmann and Stefan Peter
5 Paths to a Fossil CO2-free Munich 87
Stefan Lechtenböhmer
6 100% Renewable Champions: International Case Studies 93
Anis Radzi
7 Feed-in Tariffs: The Policy Path to 100% 167
Miguel Mendonça and David Jacobs
8 How to Achieve Renewable Energy Regions and Advance Sustainable
Development: Integrated Models and Processes in Germany 173
Peter Moser, Lioba Kucharczak and Cord Hoppenbrock
9 Renewable Regions: Life After Fossil Fuel in Spain 187
Josep Puig i Boix
10 100% Renewable Transport 205
Andrew Went, Peter Newman and Wal James
11 Better Place 225
Peter Droege
12 How to Grow Food in the 100% Renewable City:
Building-Integrated Agriculture 229
Viraj Puri and Ted Caplow
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viii 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action
13 Masdar City Master Plan: The Design and Engineering Strategies 243
Matthias Schuler (with preface by Peter Droege)
14 Urban Energy Potentials: A Step Towards the Use of
100% Renewable Energies 251
Dieter D. Genske, Lars Porsche and Ariane Ruff
15 Closing the Planning Gap: Moving to Renewable Communities 263
Nancy Carlisle and Brian Bush
16 Community Life at 100% and Beyond: How to Raise a Renewable
Family Without Even Trying 289
Michael Stöhr
17 100% Renewable Life: One Man’s Journey for a Solar World 307
Martin Vosseler
Index 313
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List of Figures,
Tables and Boxes
Figures
1.1 Two oil wells burning side by side at Santa Fe Springs,
California oil field, 1928 3
1.2 Power lines into a brightly lit Sheffield and the Meadowhall
Shopping Centre over the M1 motorway, with the disused
Tinsley cooling towers 5
1.3 Windmill in Crete, Greece 5
1.4 The environmental footprint of an average American
or Australian family 10
1.5 Not 100 per cent 13
1.6 Solar energy installation in Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel 16
1.7 Californian governor Schwarzenegger opening Ausra’s Bakersfield
pilot, 24 October 2008, the first new Californian solar-thermal
plant constructed in 20 years 17
1.8 A cooling tower for a geothermal power plant in New Zealand 18
1.9 A local power shortage darkens part of São Paolo 22
1.10 Boys and solar module, Caoduo school, Rongbo, Yu 24
1.11 One of Bangladeshi NGO Shidhulai’s boat libraries visits a remote
village in Raishahi, Bangladesh 25
1.12 The clean and worldwide switch to renewable power 26
1.13 Daxu stoves in China 30
1.14 Wood fuel heating for schools in Nottinghamshire, UK 31
1.15 Rooftop solar panels in Neckarsulm-Amorbach, Germany 32
1.16 Berlin’s solar framework plan 34
1.17 Chicago streets 36
1.18 Old-fashioned power and telephone lines sagging after heavy ice
storm 38
1.19 A 1:10,000 scale working model of an autonamous renewable
electricity supply for Germany 39
1.20 Local distribution heritage: Street wire tangle 40
1.21 Gasoline ration coupon 42
1.22 Aerial view of Levittown, Pennsylvania, circa 1959 43
1.23 Vision of the Western Australian capital city, Perth, supported by
photovoltaic or solar-thermal fields anchoring a diverse city region
developed around urban agriculture, forest and wetland resources 44
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x 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action
2.1 Delegates at the International Parliamentary Forum on Renewable

Energies, June 2004, Bonn, agreeing on the final resolution 53
3.1 Oil production: World Summary 58
3.2 World oil prices and IEA price forecasts 58
3.3 Projected coal production capacity in the coming years 59
3.4 Coal prices 60
3.5 Uranium demand and possible supply from known resources 61
3.6 FiT under the Renewable Energy Sources Act versus emissions
trading 62
3.7 The supply of renewable energy 63
3.8 Concentrating solar power potential versus electricity demand 64
3.9 Share of renewables in gross electricity consumption in Germany 65
3.10 Renewable energies as an engine for job creation in Germany 65
3.11 Wind power capacity in Germany, UK and Australia 66
3.12 Photovoltaics capacity in Germany, Australia and Japan 67
3.13 Costs avoided due to renewable energy 68
4.1 The structure of a renewable energy system 72
4.2 Share of energy sources providing energy for Europe in 2050
in three different scenarios 74
4.3a Structure of supply (electricity, heat and fuels) for the six scenarios 76
4.3b Gross energy production from different technologies in the six
scenarios 76
4.4 Simulation dynamics for four exemplary weeks, showing the
contributions of all sources and energy demand 77
4.5 Areas required to install sufficient renewable energy generating
capacity to supply 100 per cent of electricity demand in Catalonia
and development of renewable electricity generating capacities in
the ‘Fast Exit Scenario’ 79
4.6a Electricity demand and supply in spring 80
4.6b Electricity demand and supply in autumn (November) 81
4.7 Development of renewable energy production and consumption:
Development of annual investments per capita 82
4.8 Final electricity and heat demand and renewable shares until
2030 in the ‘high variant’ scenario 83
4.9 Development of investments in the Renewable Energy Outlook
2030 scenarios and military expenditures as of 2005 84
5.1 Key strategies for carbon emission reduction in Munich, 2058:
Target Scenario 90
6.1 Juniper Tree at El Sabinar, El Hierro, Canary Islands 93
6.2 An improved ram pump technology brings running water to
hillside villages in the Philippines 97
6.3 Daycare by bike in Samsø 102
6.4 The ‘Green Drop’ symbolizing Güssing’s ökoEnergieland model 106
6.5 Renewables for environmental protection in Jämtland county 111
6.6 Jühnde as Germany’s first bioenergy village 116
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LIST OF FIGURES, TABLE AND BOXES xi
6.7 The production of biodiesel by rapeseed in Mureck 120

6.8 The National Center of Renewable Energy, Pamplona, Navarre 126
6.9 Xu Wenjian, Party Secretary, Miao Zuigou Village, Zou Yuan town,
near Yan’an, with his biogas light and stove 132
6.10 The Thisted model 137
6.11 Fortress in the historical town centre of Varese Ligure 141
6.12 Solar panels are integrated into a block of flats in Latokartano
ecological housing area in Viikki area, Helsinki, Finland 145
6.13 The town square of Woking, Surrey, UK 150
6.14 Krafla geothermal power plant in Iceland 155
8.1 Regional significance of energy types 175
8.2 Path of development for potential 100 per cent renewable energy
regions 178
8.3 Integrated model for achieving an ‘ideal region’ 180
8.4 100 per cent renewable energy regions in Germany
(December 2008) 182
9.1 Barcelona’s San Adrian power plant 190
9.2 Development of electricity demand and two supply scenarios
of Solar Catalonia 199
10.1 Comparative fuel efficiency and emissions for vehicles configured
as ICV, HEV and PHEV 209
10.2 A V2G-supported generation portfolio with renewable energy
meeting a large proportion of a typical days’ electricity demand 218
11.1 A Better Place fleet car 227
12.1 Recirculating hydroponics: The most water-efficient form of
agriculture in the world 231
12.2 Tomato crops under hydroponic cultivation 232
12.3 Rooftop greenhouse modelled on a supermarket 234
12.4 Rooftop greenhouse modelled on a residential tower 235
12.5 VIG modelled on the 2020 Tower 236
12.6 Lettuce crops in a VIG office facade 237
12.7 VIG prototype undergoing testing 238
12.8 The Science Barge: A prototype urban CEA facility built by
BrightFarm Systems 240
13.1 Artist’s impression of a Masdar square 246
13.2 Masdar master plan 247
13.3 The reinterpretation of an Emirates traditional wind tower and
its possible impact were studied using fluid dynamic simulation 248
14.1 Options for energy production 253
14.2 ‘Power plants’ in Erfurt 254
14.3 The demand on urban space to produce one GWh per year with
options of renewable power generation and the associated costs 255
14.4 The demand on urban space to produce one GWh per year with
options of renewable heat generation and the associated costs 255
14.5 Structure of energy demand in Germany according to energy parties 257
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xii 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action
14.6 General strategy of deriving maps depicting the potential for

renewable energy generation 259
14.7 The city of Sondershausen divided into urban prototypes 260
14.8 Degree of energy supply to satisfy long-term demands for the city
of Sondershausen 261
15.1 The planning gap 264
15.2 Growth in energy use in the City of Boulder 271
15.3 Fort Collins projections for renewable energy to meet defined
energy targets 275
15.4 Conceptual design image of the building 278
16.1 Residents of our quarter sit down for a meal at the Platz der
Menschenrechte (Square of Human Rights) 291
16.2 View of our city quarter from the top of our house with
SOLNA PV plant in front, and ecumenical church and shopping
centre Riem-Arcaden in the background 292
16.3 Our cooperative-owned multi-family apartment house consisting
of two buildings connected by a glass-covered bridge at the level
of the second floor 294
16.4 Inhabitants contributing labour to house construction
(construction of bicycle sheds) 294
16.5 Members of SOLNA during a break off work installing a PV plant 297
16.6 Display panel showing the yield of the SOLNA PV plant in the
entrance area of our house 297
16.7 Ecumenical church centre with SOLKIZ photovoltaic plant seen
from the church tower 299
16.8 A typical scene in the Messestadt Riem 304
16.9 A child’s birthday party in our community room 304
16.10 The terrace and play ground extend the community room
outdoors 305
16.11 The annual cooking party in the community room of our house
has become a tradition 305
16.12 Another party on top of the roof of our house 306
16.13 Cooking with the sun: Barbara Fredmüller prepares food with
her solar cooker 306
17.1 The solar catamaran Sun21 in Miami, Florida 308
17.2 Sunwalk 2008: Martin Vosseler arriving in Los Angeles on
1 February 2008 310
17.3 Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1 March 2008 312
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LIST OF FIGURES, TABLE AND BOXES xiii
Tables
4.1 Targets for annual investments into renewable generating
capacities in 2030 in the Renewable Energies Outlook 2030
‘low variant’ and ‘high variant’ scenarios 83
5.1 Long-term greenhouse gas mitigation targets by selected cities 88
9.1 Wind power in Spain 189
10.1 Payback periods for HEVs and PHEVs compared to standard
ICVs 215
10.2 Wind capacity increases made possible, as a function of the
number of PHEVs 217
14.1 Urban prototypes 256
15.1 Conventional energy reduction options hierarchy for a community 266
16.1 Energy consumption by our family in comparison to the German
reference family 295
16.2 Breakdown of our share of the electricity generation of different
plants compared to our energy/electricity consumption and the
electricity consumption of a German reference family 298
16.3 Breakdown of our average annual mobility and related energy
consumption 302
Boxes
16.1 Key messages 290
17.1 Sun21 308
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List of Contributors
Brian W. Bush
Brian W. Bush is a Principal Strategic Analyst at the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. His areas of expertise include energy
and infrastructure modelling, simulation and analysis, high-performance
computing, software architecture, design, implementation and testing, discrete-
event and continuous simulation, statistical analysis, and geographic
information systems. He holds a PhD in physics from Yale University and a BS
in physics from the California Institute of Technology. His prior work
experience was as a technical Staff Member at the Los Alamos National
Laboratory.
Ted Caplow
Formerly a clean energy consultant for Capital-E, LLC, Dr Caplow worked on
energy efficiency and carbon offset credits for a range of clients including the
California Energy Commission and the US Department of Energy. His
expertise also includes water contaminant dynamics, and he has published
articles on this topic in the Journal of Environmental Engineering, Environ-
mental Science & Technology and Estuaries. Founder and Technical Director
of BrightFarm Systems, Dr Caplow developed the master plan for the Science
Barge, a prototype sustainable urban CEA facility. His subsequent design work
on rooftop and facade-mounted agriculture has been published in Science,
Sustain, Urban Land and Good. Dr Caplow holds a BA from Harvard
University, an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University, and
a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Columbia University, where he has
taught a class on green buildings.
Nancy Carlisle
Nancy is the Manager of the Integrated Applications Group in Deployment
and Industrial Programs at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL) in Golden, Colorado and a licensed architect in the state of Colorado,
USA. At NREL, she led the effort to develop a 25-year master site plan for
future build-out of the NREL sustainable campus. She led the effort to get
NREL’s Science and Technology facility certified as LEED Platinum, the first
federal building receiving this designation. She is currently on the project team
overseeing the design of a 740-person ‘zero-energy’ office building for the
NREL campus. She has served as the NREL lead for the DOE Federal Energy
Management Program for a number of years, working with federal agencies to
meet their federal goals for renewable energy use at their sites. She has
managed a strategic initiative for NREL on the topic of renewable energy
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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS xv
communities. She has worked at NREL for over 25 years, in research, analysis,
design and outreach activities that promote the design of sustainable low
energy buildings. She is a LEED accredited professional and recognized as a
Fellow in the American Solar Energy Society. She holds a Masters degree in
Architecture, a Masters degree in Urban Planning and a Bachelors degree in
Economics with a concentration in Environmental Studies.
Peter Droege
Peter Droege is Chair of the World Council for Renewable Energy for Asia
Pacific, Professor of Sustainable Development at the University Hochschule
Liechtenstein and Conjoint Professor at Australia’s University of Newcastle.
He serves on a number of international panels, including the Expert
Commission, Cities and Climate Change of the World Future Council and the
Steering Committee of the Urban Climate Change Research Network. As
principal at Epolis.com.au, the Sydney-based environmental design firm, Peter
Droege has been an executive adviser to numerous government, state, local
government and private corporate institutions on renewable and sustainable
urban development strategies. His academic background includes the
Technical University of Munich and Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
and professorial positions at Tokyo University and the University of Sydney.
Droege has authored The Renewable City: A Comprehensive Guide to an
Urban Revolution (Wiley) and edited Intelligent Environments and Urban
Energy Transition: From Fossil Fuels to Renewable Power (both Elsevier).
Hans-Josef Fell
Mr Fell has been a member of the German Bundestag since 1998 and is
spokesman for the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group on energy and
technology, and also the spokesman for Technology Assessment. Hans-Josef
Fell was the author of the proposal of the German renewable energy act (EEG).
He also initiated new research programmes for renewable energies. Fell serves
as Deputy Spokesman of the Bavarian Solar Initiatives; Vice-President of
Eurosolar; member of the World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE);
Initiator of the influential Energy Watch Group. Awards include: Eurosolar
German Solar Prize 1994; prize of the German section of the International
Solar Energy Society (DGS) in 2000; Energy Globe Award in 2000; Nuclear-
Free Future Award in 2001; German Solar Industry Prize in 2002; first German
Geothermal Award in 2002; German Biogas Prize in 2003.
Dieter D. Genske
Dr Dieter D. Genske studied Civil Engineering and Geology in Germany and
the US and started working on environmental problems, as Humboldt-research
fellow in Kyoto, Japan. At Deutsche Montan Technologie (DMT) he became
involved in large urban remediation projects, including the International
Building Exhibition IBA Emscherpark. In 1994, he was appointed Professor of
Engineering Geology at Delft University of Technology and three years later
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xvi 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action
Professor of Environmental Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of

Technology in Lausanne, where he founded the Laboratory of Ecotechnics, the
first of its kind in Switzerland. He chaired this research laboratory until the
end of 2000. He has conducted a number of development projects in low-
income countries. Presently, he teaches at Nordhausen University (Germany)
and is chairing the Anthroposphere Dynamics Group at the Institute of
Environmental Decision, ETH-Zurich.
Cord Hoppenbrock
Cord Hoppenbrock, Dipl.-Geogr., majored in Economic Geography, at the
University of Osnabrück, with a minor in Business Studies and Ecology. He
gathered work experience at the Institute of Ecological Economy Research and
the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg. Since
October 2007 he has been a research assistant and PhD student at the
University of Kassel and at deENet, deENet.org.
David Jacobs
David Jacobs is researcher and PhD candidate at the Environmental Policy
Research Centre in Berlin (FFU). His research focuses on support mechanisms
for renewable electricity. Previously, he gained work experience in the German
Bundestag and large European utilities. He also worked on projects for several
research institutes, the German Wind Energy Association and the World Future
Council. David Jacobs is a frequent speaker at international conferences. He
has an academic background in International Business and Cultural Studies.
Walter James
Wal James is a mechanical engineer, graduated from the University of Santiago,
Chile, and is a member of the Institution of Engineers Australia. His research
and development experience is manifest in his role as Associate Researcher at
Curtin and Murdoch Universities in Perth, Western Australia, investigating
renewable energies and their connection with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
He has been a Board Member of the Cooperative Research Centre for
Renewable Energy Australia, Projects Manager Murdoch University Energy
Research Institute, and Projects Manager Solar Energy Research Institute of
Western Australia. His industry experience is extensive: Wal James was
founding director of Advanced Energy Systems, and served as chief executive
officer of Energy Efficient Co., Singer Controls and RCA Arica, Chile.
Lioba Kucharczak
Lioba Kucharczak Dipl.-Ing. agr. studied agricultural sciences with a
specialization in Environmental Management and Development of Rural
Areas. Since January 2008 she has been part of the project team ‘Sustainable
100% renewable energy regions in Germany’ at deENet.org and a PhD student
at the Department of Grassland Science and Renewable Plant Resources at the
University of Kassel.
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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS xvii
Stefan Lechtenböhmer Dr rer. pol. is Co-Director of the Research Group
Future Energy and Mobility Structures of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate
Environment Energy, Germany. He is responsible for the applied research in
national and international sustainable energy and climate scenario analysis. He
has conducted numerous studies on energy and emission scenario analysis and
pathways to a low-carbon society. A particular focus of his work is the design
and evaluation of energy efficiency policies and measures. His further research
topics comprise greenhouse gas emission inventories and projections, sustain-
able urban infrastructures, and greenhouse gas emissions from the natural gas
lifecycle. He acquired his PhD in Energy and Environmental Management at
the International Institute for Management at the University of Flensburg. He
holds a university degree (diploma) in Geography, Economy and Political
Sciences from the University of Münster and is a member of the UNFCCC
Roster of Experts for Greenhouse Gas-Inventories, Policies & Measures,
Greenhouse Gas-Projections.
Harry Lehmann
Dr Harry Lehmann works for the German Federal Environment Agency as
Head of Division I: Environmental Planning and Sustainable Strategies. From
1983 to 1991 he served as Head of the Consultancy ‘UHL Data’ –
Systemanalyse und Simulation im Bereich Energie- und Umwelttechnik. Until
2000 Lehmann was with the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment
and Energy, and until 2006, he was Vice President of Eurosolar. Between 2000
and 2002 he was appointed Member of the Enquete Commission ‘Sustainable
energy supply under the boundaries of globalization and liberalization’ of the
German parliament. A founding member of the World Council for Renewable
Energy he served as Solutions and Innovations Unit Director for Greenpeace
International. Also in the early 2000s he headed the Institute for Sustainable
Solutions and Innovations in Aachen. Since 2004 Dr Lehmann has been
General Director at the Federal Environment Agency of Germany and
President of the Factor 10 Club.
Miguel Mendonça
Miguel Mendonça is Research Manager for the World Future Council. His
background is in horticulture, geography, history, journalism, social science
and environmental ethics. He is a researcher, writer and advocate, focusing on
renewable energy. He has worked on four continents, campaigning, coalition-
building and speaking, and is a member of the steering committee of the
Alliance for Renewable Energy, promoting feed-in tariffs in North America. He
writes books, articles, papers, comment pieces and reviews on sustainability
issues, is author of Feed-in Tariffs: Accelerating the Deployment of Renewable
Energy and is co-writing a new book on decarbonizing the global economy,
entitled A Renewable World – Policies, Practices, Technologies.
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xviii 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action
Peter Moser
Dr Peter Moser was project manager at the Centre for Environmental
Research, Leipzig (1998–2003) and at the University of Kassel (2003–2007).
Since 2007 he has served as project manager at the deENet (deENet.org),
especially on the research project ‘Sustainable 100% renewable energy regions
in Germany’.
Peter Newman
Peter Newman is the Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University and has
recently been appointed to the Board of Infrastructure Australia that is funding
infrastructure for the long-term sustainability of Australian cities. In 2001–2003
Peter directed the production of Western Australia’s Sustainability Strategy in the
Department of the Premier and Cabinet. It was the first state sustainability strat-
egy in the world. In 2004–2005 he was a Sustainability Commissioner in Syd-
ney advising the government on planning issues. In 2006–2007 he was a Fulbright
Senior Scholar at the University of Virginia Charlottesville where he completed
two new books: Resilient Cities: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change
and Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems. In Perth, Peter is best known for his work
in saving, reviving and extending the city’s rail system. Peter invented the term
‘automobile dependence’ to describe how we have created cities where we have
to drive everywhere. For 30 years, since he attended Stanford University during
the first oil crisis, he has been warning cities about preparing for peak oil. Pe-
ter’s book with Jeff Kenworthy, Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile
Dependence, was launched in the White House in 1999. He was a Councillor
in the City of Fremantle from 1976–1980, where he still lives.
Stefan Peter
Dipl. Ing. Stefan Peter studied Energy and Environmental Technologies, with a
special emphasis on renewable energies, at the Fachhochschule Aachen,
Germany. The focus of his later work has been on energy efficiency, renewable
energy support measures, the possible contribution of renewable energies to
energy supply and the integration of renewables into existing energy supply
systems. He has authored studies for government departments and
independent renewable energy organizations. As one of the main contributors
to the ‘Energy Rich Japan’ study he is familiar with energy system simulation
and design and scenario development.
Robyn Polan
Robyn studies Sustainable Development at the University of New South Wales.
Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, she received a Bachelor of Science at
Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Robyn contributed research to
Chapters 6, 11 and 13 in this book.
Lars Porsche
Since 2002, Lars Porsche has worked for the Federal Office for Building and
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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS xix
Regional Planning (BBR) in Bonn, Germany. He has been in charge of the

European Spatial Planning Observation Network EPSON, Contact Point
Germany. Since 2007 he has been responsible for the domain Energy and
Spatial Planning.
Josep Puig i Boix

Josep Puig is a consultant on energy and the environment. He works as
specialist on renewable energy and the Spanish energy market with Ecofys.
Also he teaches a course on Energy and Society in Environmental Science
Studies at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He has worked on
renewable energy since 1981 in the University, with private companies and as
a local politician. He is an energy engineer with a PhD and a Masters in
Environmental Engineering. He has published many articles and books on
energy and environment. He is vice-president of Eurosolar.
Viraj Puri
Viraj Puri is the Founder and Managing Director of Gotham Greens. Gotham
Greens is creating New York City’s first commercial-scale hydroponic farm.
While a Project Manager for BrightFarm Systems, a New York-based environ-
mental engineering and design firm, Mr Puri managed various urban
agriculture projects. He has managed renewable energy and energy efficiency
projects at the SECMOL Alternative Institute in Ladakh, India and at the
Mount Mulanje Conservation Trust in Malawi, focusing on green building,
passive solar design, solar photovoltaics and fuel-efficient cookstoves. He has
delivered presentations on urban CEA at varied academic and private sector
settings including Wageningen University, The Netherlands, Berlin Technical
University and Ecocity World Summit 2008, San Francisco. He holds a BA
from Colgate University and is a LEED-accredited professional
Anis Radzi
Anis Radzi graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelors degree
in Architecture, summa cum laude, and a Masters in Urban Design. After
practising architecture for six years she turned her attention to researching
ways in which the built environment can become self-sustaining in energy
terms, giving special focus to renewable energy integration in bioclimatic
architecture and sustainable urban design strategies. Anis presently is on a
doctorate-canditature track and involved in urban design teaching at bachelor
and master levels.
Ariane Ruff
Ariane studied Geography at Potsdam University in Germany. From 2000 until
2003, she taught at the University of Erfurt, Germany. Since 2003, she has
conducted a research project focusing on sustainable land management at
Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences.
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xx 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action
Hermann Scheer
Hermann Scheer studied Economics, Sociology, Political Science and Public
Law between 1967 and 1972 at the University of Heidelberg and the Free
University of Berlin. He received his PhD in Economic and Social Science in
1972. Dr Scheer was first elected member of the German parliament in 1980,
and has been re-elected eight times since. From 1983 Hermann Scheer has been
delegated by the German parliament to the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe, and served as Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture
between 1994 and 1997. Dr Scheer has chaired as well as initiated numerous
international research and development conferences. His work is dedicated to
a broad shift in the energy basis of modern civilization from fossil and nuclear
resources to renewable energies. He has demonstrated both the necessity and
feasibility of this transition in his five books: The Stored Sun (1987), The Solar
Age (1989), Solar Strategy (1993), The Solar Economy (1999) and Climate
Change. From the Fossil to the Solar Culture (2002). In addition, Dr Scheer
has also authored more than 1000 articles.
Matthias Schuler
Matthias Schuler is one of the managing directors of TRANSSOLAR
Energietechnik in Stuttgart. Born in 1958, he was educated as a mechanical
engineer at University Stuttgart. In 1992 he founded the company
TRANSSOLAR Climate Engineering. TRANSSOLAR’S focus is on new
energy saving and comfort optimizing strategies by an integral approach in
building design. Today – with 40 employees in Stuttgart, Munich and New
York – Matthias Schuler works on national and international projects with
architects such as Kazuyo Sejima, Frank O. Gehry, Steven Holl, Jean Nouvel
and Helmut Jahn. Since 2001, he has been teaching as a visiting professor at
the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, and he became Adjunct
Professor for Environmental Technologies in 2008.
Michael Stöhr
Michael Stöhr, Physicist, born 1964, received his PhD in fundamental research
on silicon at the European High Magnetic Field Facility in Grenoble, France.
From 1992 to 2000, he worked as scientific collaborator on renewable energies
at WIP, Munich. Since 2000, he has been a senior consultant at BAUM.
Consult, Munich, where he coordinates international research projects on
renewable energies. For the guidebook On the Way to the 100% Region, co-
authored with his colleagues M. Tischer, M. Lurz and L. Karg from BAUM
Consult GmbH, Munich, he has been awarded the German Solar Prize in 2006
in the media category.
The Stöhr family was Germany’s Energy Saving Champion in 2006 in the
category of tenants for having completely switched to fully renewable energy
supply in its daily life. From 2004 to date, Michael Stöhr has been a member
of the supervisory board of WOGENO München e.G., a co-operative for
participatory, social and ecological dwelling in Munich, and has been involved
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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS xxi
in the planning and realization of the low-energy building where his family
lives. In Munich’s Messestadt-Riem quarter he has implemented two
participatory PV plants.
Martin Vosseler
Dr Vosseler is an environmental activist who, as a physician, is motivated by
his deep commitment to the health and well-being of people everywhere. Born
in Basel in 1948, he studied and practised medicine in Basel (1982–1995) and
worked as Research Fellow at the Division of Primary Care and Family
Medicine of Harvard Medical School. Dr Vosseler is initiator and co-founder
of PSR/IPPNW Switzerland (1981, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Swiss
chapter of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War,
receiving the Nobel Peace Price in 1985): www.ippnw.ch; Physicians Action
‘Air is Life’ (1985): www.aefu.ch; SUNswitzerland (1997); International
Energy Forum sun21 (1997): www.sun21.ch; and is a co-founder of Ecocity
Basel (1986). He is the co-founder of Transatlantic21, 2006, with a Guinness
Book of Records entry in 2007. Long distance walks are 1999 Konstanz,
Germany to Santiago de Compostela, Spain; 2003 Basel to Bethlehem; and
SUNwalk 2008: Los Angeles to Boston, USA. Martin Vosseler lives in Elm/Gl,
Switzerland.
Andrew Went
Andrew received an Honours degree in Nanotechnology from Curtin
University. He also has a graduate certificate in Sustainability Studies from
Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute (CUSP). He is now pursuing a
PhD into the technologies required for V2G to become a reality.
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List of Acronyms
and Abbreviations
AC alternating current
ADFEC Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company
BBR German Federal Agency for Construction and Spatial
Planning (Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung)
BBSR German Federal Institute for Building, City and Spatial
Research (Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und
Raumforschung)
BedZed Beddington Zero Emissions Development
BEV battery electric vehicle
BMELV German Ministry of Food Agriculture and Consumer
Protection
BMU Germany’s Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety
BTU British thermal unit
ºC degrees Celsius
CATE Cooperative for Technological and Energy Autonomy
CCP Cities for Climate Protection
CCS carbon capture and storage
CDTI Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico e Industrial
CEA controlled environment agriculture
CENER National Renewables Centre
CENIFER Integrated National Center for Training in Renewables
CEOE Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales
CF capacity factor
CHP combined heat and power
CNG compressed natural gas
CO2 carbon dioxide
COP Conference of the Parties
CSA community-supported agriculture
CSP concentrating solar power
CSR corporate social responsibility
CTE Spanish Building Technical Code
DC direct current
deENET GmbH Competence Network for Decentralized Energy
Technologies
DG TREN Directorate-General for Energy and Transport
DH district heating
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LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS xxiii
DLR German Aerospace Center

DSF double skin facade
DSR demand side response
DTI Department of Trade and Industry
EEE European Centre for Renewable Energy
EEG Renewable Energy Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz)
EHN Corporación Energía Hidroeléctrica de Navarre
EMAS Eco-Management and Audit Scheme
ESCO environmental service company
ET emissions trading
EU European Union
EURATOM European Atomic Energy Community
EWEA European Wind Energy Association
EWG Energy Watch Group
ExWoSt Experimental Housing and Urban Development
FCAS frequency control ancillary services
FEE Force Énergétique par les Enfants
FiT feed-in tariff
FNR German Agency of Renewable Resources
GDP gross domestic product
GW gigawatt
HCT hydrothermal carbon technology
HEV hybrid electric vehicle
HVAC heating, ventilation and air-conditioning
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
ICE internal combustion engine
ICLEI International Council on Local Environmental Initiative
ICV internal combustion vehicle
IDAE Spanish Energy Agency
IEA International Energy Agency
IECP Integrated Energy and Climate Programme
IFC International Finance Corporation
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPPNW International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
IRENA International Renewable Energy Agency
ITC Technical Institute of the Canary Islands
IZNE Interdisciplinary Centre for Sustainable Development
Kg kilogram
km kilometre
kt kiloton
kV kilovolt
kWh kilowatt hour
LPG liquefied petroleum gas
LTI Long-Term Integration of Renewable Energies into the
European Energy System
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xxiv 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action
mb/d million barrels per day

MDG Millennium Development Goal
mtoe million ton oil equivalent
MW megawatt
NATTA Network for Alternative Technology and Technology
Assessment
NEM National Energy Market
NEV neighbourhood electric vehicle
NGO non-government organization
NOx nitrogen oxide
NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory
OEM original equipment manufactured
OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
PER Plan de Energia Renovable
PG&E Pacific Gas & Electric
PHEV plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
PIOH Island Planning Regulations
PJ petajoule
ppm parts per million
PV photovoltaics
R&D research and development
REC renewable energy certificate
REDP Renewable Energy Development Project
SAFA Finnish Association of Architects
SEEG South Styria Cooperative for Energy and Protein
Production
SEU Sustainable Energy Utility
SMUD Sacramento Municipal Utility District
SO2 sulphur dioxide
SWF Shaanxi Provincial Women’s Federation
TARA Tecnologías Alternativas Radicales y Autogestionadas
Tekes National Technology Agency of Finland
TOU time-of-use
TRANS-CSP Trans-Mediterranean Interconnection for
Concentrating Solar Power
TW terawatt
UBA German Federal Environment Agency
ULP unleaded petrol
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change
UNISEO United Nations International Sustainable Energy
Association
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LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS xxv
UNSEGED United Nations Solar Energy Group on Environment

and Development
UNU-GTP United Nations University Geothermal Training
Program
US United States of America
V2G vehicle to grid
VAT value added tax
VIG vertically integrated greenhouse
WEO World Energy Outlook
WTW well to wheel
WWF World Wide Fund for Nature
ZEB zero-energy building
ZED zero-energy district
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3474 EARTHSCAN 100% Renewable:Layout 1 21/9/09 12:24 Page 1
Chapter One
100% Renewable Energy:
The Essential Target
Peter Droege
Renewable power – foundation for human evolution

The time has come to abolish the combustion of coal, oil and gas for energy
generation worldwide, along with the nuclear power threat. This is the
historical challenge of today. It is unlike any other that preceded it in the
emergence of human civilization. It is unprecedented because it involves a
collective choice to be made across a wide array of technological, social and
economic conditions – to go beyond the slow and messy process of blind
evolution. A global renewable energy base is the very foundation of sustainable
life on this planet. Only with it, massive afforestation efforts and lifestyle
changes to higher quality and dramatically lowered material consumption
become the essential elements of hope. A worldwide move to sustainable
economic practice beyond green lip service may just still carry this promise: to
rebuild the inherited system of wasteful abundance for the few into a basis for
sustaining human life in a steady-state economy for all.
‘100 per cent renewable’ means an entirely renewable power base for the glob-
al economy, across the lifecycle of energy flows, embodied, operational, trans-
port or stationary. In this world steeped in expensive and toxic hydrocarbon fu-
els and products it does not seem easy for anyone but isolated indigenous tribes
to live up to this ideal. Nevertheless, the aim to rely on the abundant and large-
ly free sources of the sun is clear, and it is necessary. A wave of innovations ris-
es in infrastructure systems, personal transport or community development, suc-
cessfully procuring non-polluting local electricity and thermal resources. Man-
ufacturers begin to develop renewable production processes, and increasingly,
producers of closed-cycle materials are keen on eliminating fossil carbon com-
bustion content. This book is a snapshot of a dynamic picture, a world well on
the path to sustaining human civilization on a renewable planet.
Is 100 per cent too ambitious? Climate change and fossil fuel production
risks are now so massive that an anthropogenic carbon emissions balance has
to be aimed at that is significantly below zero: current atmospheric carbon
2 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action
dioxide (CO2) concentrations will have to be lowered by at least 25 per cent

through carbon sequestration in forests and soils to eventually return to pre-
industrial levels – that is, if a choice is to be made to actively and purposefully
compensate for human damage. Others may prefer to pray instead for ‘helpful
disasters’ such as, say, the collapse of the Gulf Stream to slow Greenland
glacial melting.
How to get there? The path is different for each person, community,
company or country. For some, internal renewable resources can be maximized
more easily, for others, regional and national programmes will have to be the
more powerful agenda carriers. Weak local government will require strong
action by state and national institutions. Developing countries in the grip of
international lending leveraged policies will also benefit from a reform of these
policies, to advance 100 per cent renewable targets not merely as desirable
aspects of sustainable development, but the very condition on which to found
sustainable aims such as, for example, the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs).
Notes to a renewable future

After more than a century of fossil-fuel charged hyperdevelopment, the
hydrocarbon age reaches its end. Predicted for half a century (Hubbert, 1956),
conventional petroleum production capacity at stable prices has peaked,
roughly in 2005–2006. As if to demonstrate this fact, along with its early
consequences, an under-controlled United States (US) mortgage industry
leveraged on highly fossil-fuel exposed land development – suburban sprawl –
helped precipitate the great financial crisis commencing two years later.
Economic growth under the conventional energy and resource consumption
model has long become an oxymoronic notion (Meadows et al, 2004;
Newman at al, 2008; Schindler and Zittel, 2008; see also www.abc.net.au/
rn/ockhamsrazor/stories/2008/2445159.htm and www.resilientcitiesbook.org/
index.php?page_id=281).
Meanwhile, greenhouse gas concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere
exceeded proven sustainable levels of 280 parts per million (ppm) by at least
one third – concentrations reaching 390 ppm in 2009 (Rahmstorf and
Schellnhuber, 2007; Hansen et al, 2008; NOAA, 2009). Yet international
climate negotiators and most other policy voices engaged in international
climate negotiations misinterpreted Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) advice, declaring 450 or even 550 ppm CO2 in atmospheric
concentrations as safe – as if the solemn incantation of an artificial number
approaching twice the pre-industrial levels would be adhered to by the
biosphere. Science and politics merged, even as planetary systems raised the
spectre of out-of-control climate destabilization at 380 ppm and a 0.7 degrees
celsius (ºC) temperature rise. Saner voices call for 280 ppm or at most 350 ppm
(Hansen et al, 2008), even if taking a rather principled stance – a target
repeated by Al Gore at the climate talks in Poznan, December 2008. Gore
THE ESSENTIAL TARGET 3
spoke to the great cheer of the audience, while the main conference agenda was
still focused on avoiding any targets – or accepting the magic 450 ppm at best.
This book focuses on the only desirable consequence of this historical stage
in humankind’s evolution. Its authors document key elements and features of a
complete turn away from fossil fuels and nuclear power. They and their projects
are living testimony to the extraordinarily practical, exceptionally everyday and
stunningly normal transition from the mechanical age of oversupply by rigid
‘base load’ – a characteristic of the power generating dinosaurs of the early
industrial age – to the vision of a planetary response more in harmony with the
diurnal rhythm (Mills and Morgan, 2008) and geographic conditions.
With this shift the seasons begin to matter again, the difference between
night and day, local weather patterns and the specific advantages of location,
including cultural characteristics. None of this seemed relevant in the dark
days of the conventional power regime when maximizing output was the call
of duty and reward – discounting the planetary pollution with toxic gases,
carcinogenic particulates, lethal radioactive material, and the dominant culture
of wasteful abundance that marked the 20th century’s industrialized regime of
consumption. In a renewably supported world, so we hope, humanity can
begin to breathe and prosper, freed from the most powerful shackles: the
conventional energy chains.
Figure 1.1 Two oil wells burning side by side at Santa Fe Springs, California oil field, 1928
Source: Los Angeles Times, 19 September 1928,
Los Angeles Times photographic archive, UCLA Library
Raising a phoenix from the planet of waste

Fossil fuel burning has been the main source of a pernicious accumulation of
airborne industrial waste, followed by deforestation and industrialized
agriculture. Yet this worldwide incendiary frenzy will cease eventually, with
strategies implemented to remove the human-induced excess greenhouse gas
from the atmosphere. Renewable energy democracy, founded on the
responsible footing of lowered demand and greater efficiency, is the only
logical heir to the conventional power dictatorship. Unlike the old system, it is
based on ubiquitous sources and capable of operating at a local, community,
national and global scale. To put it differently: to work in sustainable ways,
and to assist without squandering another precious moment, this virtually
limitless source of energy must be deployed not in an attempt to simply
replicate the toxic sources inherited, but with an entirely new way of looking
at energy generation, conversion, trade and use. This also implies bold
reductions in primary energy and resource demand, greater efficiency and
more just and equal ways of approaching international relations and global
development. Great changes lie ahead.
Globally, outdated energy systems have reached a crisis point, given
notorious failures to respond to new realities and to plan and act in the face of
a long-developing crisis. The outlook of an exhausting resource base has been
all too clear for more than a generation, and expressed in an overwhelming
reality of pollution and poverty around the globe. A clairvoyant and daring
glance into the dark pit of an unmitigated petroleum supply slide reveals air
travel, shipping and ground transport as severely curtailed, some cities that
shrink and others that fail, and oil-denominated financial systems collapsing.
The very relation of nations, of people and community life is affected; the thin
fabric of civility fraying in several regions of the world, amidst the scurrying
for remnant oil reserves, or the anticipation of migrating climate refugees. Such
spectres can still be reduced or even avoided if unprecedented steps are taken
to modify, shift, transform and replace the present system, while preparing
societies and nation states for the great energy and climate transformations to
come.
From an age of fossil-fuelled mechanization to a responsive era of

renewable autonomy
Fossil fuel-charged industrialization, first the electric and then the eclectic
electronic revolution have compounded the complexity of human civilization
and increased its interdependence. A legacy of globalized and tightly
interconnected resource flows resulted but also led to great social imbalances
evident in vast pockets of poverty around the world. A mechanized,
homogenized and corporatized global food production, distribution and profit
system has emerged with it, epitomizing the current crisis of resilience. In this
centralized and excessively interdependent environment, both the primary
export producing and the industrialized worlds become less resilient to supply
Figure 1.2 Power lines into a brightly lit Sheffield and the Meadowhall Shopping Centre
over the M1 motorway, with the disused Tinsley cooling towers: The era of the discardable
civilization has come and gone, and its infrastructure of waste has become an
embarrassment to many countries
Source: Alan Hood
Figure 1.3 Windmill in Crete, Greece: The return of appropriate technology – the new
technology is advanced but the principles are timeless. Good systems are still those
appropriate to location, season and societal setting
Source: Martin Carter
shocks (Homer-Dixon, 2009). The fossil-fuelled world is a world of tragic

irony. All people struggle for progress and a better life, driven by hope for
survival or more wealth, but in basing these hopes on false assumptions of a
failing energy and resource consumption model, all work towards decreasing
stability, lowered levels of security and a quickly eroding natural resource base.
Renewable energy exemplifies an entirely different paradigm, that of
decentralization, local resource reliance and regional autonomy. This is no
Luddite or isolationist vision, but a necessary move to locally and regionally
self-sufficient models of development. The global trade in oil, coal, gas and
uranium has nothing to contribute to sustainable forms of prosperity. Here the
local and regional conversion of solar power, wind, water, subterranean heat
sources and bioenergy, combined with reformed soil management and
reafforestation, offer the key solutions for a new age – a certain degree of
simplification by shifting complexity from the global to the regional and local
realm.
Facing a conversion investment challenge

If the slow progress of the past is any indication, it is essential to divest
radically, not gradually, from old energy systems and outmoded building and
infrastructure design approaches. There is a larger economic reason for this
and it lies in the conversion investment challenge. After discounting inertia,
vested interests and attempts to hold onto past glories and fading riches, what
emerges is that, in principle, equally significant resources are required to invest
in new or in old infrastructure. Funds that continue to be expended on
antiquated systems represent wasteful investment in failing infrastructure and
directly compete with much needed resources for new technology. This also
diminishes the reserves needed to build a new and survivable existential base.
More troubling is the still ill-understood fact that civilization is in overshoot
mode. The most significant challenge of economic policy today is to engineer
a soft landing into a stable state (Meadows et al, 2004).
The resources of strong times must be spent on averting the times of need
that otherwise are certain to come. The final years of the old energy world
must be used to convert investment to the new infrastructure – at a rate and
with a focus that far exceeds what is being done today. To move to a fully
renewable infrastructure is the most pressing task for global diplomacy, policy
and social reform agendas.
What is the effect of the 100% renewable target?

‘100 per cent renewable’ encourages governments, businesses, cities and com-
munities to leave behind programmes that only superficially ‘green’ develop-
ment strategies, deploy the same production methods and material flows while
embellishing them with the odd efficiency contract and one or two energy-
related corporate social responsibility (CSR) pledges, perhaps even some solar
roof elements or the occasional co-generation plant. It signals to the
automotive industry that this is not a matter of taking a business-as-usual fleet

of the same old cars, but of shrinking them, lightening them, networking and
endowing them with electric hearts and electronic brains – and making them
available on short- and long-term leasing bases. It entails a shift from rote car
manufacturing, with success measured in sheer numbers, to a business model
structured around a range of advanced commercial and consumer mobility
services. This would mean a massive shift in ownership arrangements, vehicle
use patterns and manufacturing techniques, dramatically lowering energy and
primary material requirements.
For the individual household, 100 per cent renewable, in its full conse-
quence, also means depending on a fully renewable resource stream: being able
to rely on, say, total fossil energy content that is lowered by 80 per cent when
compared to conventional practice, when looking at the total balance of goods
and services consumed, with shortfalls compensated by renewable power. It
means relocalization and re-regionalization of energy systems, with radical
care and surgical attention spent on the unflinching severing of what Hermann
Scheer has called the long fossil energy chains in his Solar World Economy
(Scheer, 2002). The successful, coordinated decapitation of the fossil
hydrocarbon Hydra is necessary to rescue the world economy from the long,
carbon dioxide belching and deeply impoverishing lines of the petroleum age,
restructuring it to the short and locally empowering networks of the renewable
era. To many this may still seem like a distant ideal, yet it is a practical and
immediately necessary aim. It offers rich opportunities to most incumbent
industries, waiting to be charged with new life and new meaning, in the vast
and ubiquitous world of renewable energy conversion, storage, dispatch,
operations, investment and management services.
The seemingly Herculean 100 per cent target is the very rationale behind
this book, prompting an important disclaimer. This book contains no examples
or references that fully live up to this ideal – yet all of its authors contribute
and share important plans and visions – and many demonstrate practical steps
on the path to achieving these. And another caveat is offered here: easy claims
of being ‘fully renewable’ or the even more dubious, ‘carbon-neutral’, have
become rationales for a narrowly conceived, conventional practice. The
environmental benefits of renewable energies have given rise to a deluge of
green-washing and less-than-beneficial initiatives, continued over-consumption
and prolific, mutant green business-as-usual.
100%: A target to end all targets

‘100 per cent renewable’ is a call to build an advanced civilization, rather than
to nervously focus on futile fractional emissions targets. Climate- and energy-
risk conscious communities and countries are galvanized by targets: 20 per
cent by 2020, 50 per cent by 2030, 80 per cent by 2050. This statistical contest
is understandable, and may have been healthy at some point. Yet the wrangling
for targets is also misleading since it is far from clear what these percentages
mean, given the many different ways of calculating and monitoring, let alone
arriving at them. Many target pledges have served to defer or even substitute
for action; and the more distant the target the less meaningful it becomes. To
‘back-cast’ a possible path from a distant goal and simply follow it is a
deceptively simple idea in theory but does not work in practice, given the
vagaries of chance and the discontinuities built into political processes. Many
early target setters were either too optimistic, or not ambitious enough, or
lacked clear ways of knowing how to define, determine, compare or enforce
targets. After a generation of development, there is still no unified, universally
accepted and practiced system of target and baseline setting, not for
companies, urban communities, countries – or the world.
All too often in those comparably halcyon early days of the publicly ac-
knowledged climate emergency, government planners in cities, states and mul-
ti-state unions, along with the chiefs of major energy and manufacturing cor-
porations became occupied with the art and science of performance accounting,
more so than with the design and execution of defossilizing action pro-
grammes, the pursuit of partnerships in material reincarnation and product longevi-
ty, the financing of innovative technology infrastructures or purposeful institu-
tional reform. The dead weight of political expediencies and false economic dog-
mas aside, the reason for this agonizing delay has been a gross and systematic
underestimation of renewable capabilities. The potential for a far more rapid and
deeper change than imagined was suppressed or ignored, given that the policy
conditions required for efficiency and renewable generation were seen to
threaten established interests. To be taken seriously, today’s targets have to be
radical, measurable and pursued with unwaivering commitment, with all nec-
essary resources and accountable commitments in place. As the sense of urgency
increases, distant fractional targets become increasingly meaningless.
Yes, we can – and we must

According to some sources the global petroleum production peak has passed
and its rate of decline is expected to exceed 3 per cent annually (Schindler and
Zittel, 2007). The atmosphere is over-saturated with gases trapping sun
radiation. The acidifying, warming oceans have begun to reject rather than
absorb CO2. The call for 100 per cent is therefore not a utopian polemic
against fossil fuel use, social injustice and over-consumption, but a sober call
for securing the continuity of civilization. In pushing the replacement of fossil
fuel combusting systems with the power of the sun, the wind, the earth and the
land, the only sensible and ultimately comparable target is not 10, 20 or 60 per
cent by such-and-such a date, but no less than 100 per cent, to be reached as
quickly as possible, by the most effective means available.
But is ‘100 per cent renewable’ really achievable? Depending on whether
primary or final energy is calculated, at the beginning of the 21st century only
between 12 and 20 per cent of all energy commercially derived from all sources
was non-hydrocarbon based. And only some three to four-fifths of this was in
the renewable category, according to serious world energy statistics (USGS,

2005). In a world so overwhelmed by oil and choking on coal, it is difficult –
to put it mildly – to construct a renewable life in any pure sense. The dominant
fossil fuel reality determines individual lives and community practice in so
many ways. Most aspects of even the most peaceful, serene civic lives, from
food to pharmaceuticals, are linked to oil fields and coal mines, and implicated
in the epic and brutal oil wars from Iraq to the Sudan, and the environmental
and human toll wreaked by coal mining.
The link from distant resource atrocities to every individual human life is
established through the consumption of goods and services, and the use of the
US dollar and other international currencies that are based on fossil fuel as the
new gold standard. Indeed, to some, one major success indicator may well be
the prevalence of regional ‘solar dollars’ (proposed here as the sollar) – stable
currencies not based on conventional interest rates and tied to the time-limited
barter value assigned to regional goods and services, but linked in exchange
worth to, say, the value of one kilowatt hour of solar energy.
Reduced demand and greater efficiency aims are important but

not sufficient
Today, action comes on various fronts. Relevant studies confirm that a demand
reduction and efficiency gain of at least 50 per cent – and in especially wasteful
examples, often 80 or even 90 per cent – across all sectors is technically
achievable and an essential base on which to found a renewable future. A
recent European Renewable Energy Council study sees the potential for a full
75 per cent of global carbon emissions reductions to come from efficiency
measures, against those projected under the business-as-usual scenario (EREC,
2007).
Beyond this, a massive phasing in of renewables is needed, particularly
since efficiency improvements can be slow, or have in some countries even gone
into reverse. They do not nearly keep pace with increasing demand; worse,
efficiency savings are notoriously taken up by a rise in use. And beyond
efficiency and renewable generation, dramatic lifestyle changes are needed.
Household consumption of goods and services make up a lion’s share of total
energy use. Yet very few local energy statistics reflect this fact, and fewer still
are the local government practices and programmes that embrace a shift in
consumption patterns (Lenzen et al. 2008). The World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF)-sponsored One Planet Living concept and its Beddington Zero
Emissions Development (BedZed) project are still rarities. This commercial
package was launched as a local, community-grown initiative, and while it had
intrinsic model aims it has so far failed to be broadly influential. Today WWF
attempts other, more visible, grander partnerships, for example, hoping for the
limelight in which Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City basks. The message is to be
applauded, if it indeed means ‘one-planet living’: realizing an existence within
the means allotted to each human being, measured on a global equity basis.
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Figure 1.4 The environmental footprint of an average American or Australian family: The average American or Australian suburban family of four, residing on a
600 metre square lot, requires 56 hectares in land for food, energy, products, services and waste assimilation – not even counting the area required for
sequestering carbon emissions. In order to not exceed its global fair share, it will have to reduce its environmental footprint by 86 per cent, to some 8 hectares
Source: Image courtesy of Richard Weller, Donna Broun and Kieran McKernan; data from Johnson (2006)
Expanded to the current state of affairs, one-planet living would mean the
immediate elimination of petroleum-nurtured, long-haul beef from global diets
– and of much other animal protein. And without a restructuring of global
trade relations away from the wasteful, simple-minded and grossly inequitable
export–import divide of the world, to help rebuild local self-sufficiency and
sustainable export capacity, it will be near impossible to swing around the
virtual Exxon Valdez that is the current development model.
To recapitulate: few people, communities or companies in the industrial
world, and certainly no country or city, pursue lifestyle change beyond gestures
and lip service. Yet seen on a per-household basis, energy and resources
embodied in lifestyle choices often outstrip direct energy use in many modern
cities, including that of transport. And efficiency is not pursued as seriously as
is both possible and needed. Instead, the word ‘efficiency’ is recited in endless
incantations as a kind of absolution chant: to do so is seen as safe practice since
it does not question the fundamental carbon and uranium base of industrial
energy supply. At the same time conventional power supply systems have been
over-designed to maximize fuel consumption, and based on the brute force of
wasteful base load power systems scaled to match peak demand – making a
mockery of efficiency programmes.
Indeed, in this paradoxical world, fractional carbon emission reduction
targets ridicule individual energy saving or solar installation efforts: any gains
above the target are taken up by reduced efforts on the part of commercial
polluters. And the very notion of carbon trading as an overriding policy maxim
has introduced another paradox with its own corollary loophole: an
investment in a relatively minor efficiency improvement to a coal fired power
plant, while cementing its CO2-belching existence for another 30 years, is
treated as equal to attempts at replacing the carbon-based paradigm altogether
– as long as the emission reductions add up in a comparable manner. And here
the powerful incumbent interests win out. The source of the emissions, not the
emissions themselves are infinitely more useful a focus in any serious target
setting exercise.
Pursuing ‘100% cent renewable’ as a practical goal

This book is a window on practice operating in the vicinity of the 100 per cent
renewable ideal. It is about a number of approaches, more and less partial,
none perfect, some more, some less flawed. But jointly, these references and
models are a powerful encouragement to embrace 100 per cent as the only
sensible target to be pursued at this very late point in time.
One way for a company, community or person to reach a theoretically and
practically pure, 100 per cent renewable support base is to escape the carbon
spider’s web by living in isolation, on a real, virtual or artificially defined
island. Indeed, the construction of partially energy autonomous islands of sorts
is the secret of success for many fully renewable entrepreneurs at all levels
today, from Surrey’s Woking Council to Israel’s Better Place. To the hopeful
and optimistic, these islands will proliferate fast and extensively as they
connect into a new and renewable reality.
But the label ‘100 per cent renewable’ in the somewhat less-than-ideal
sense can also apply to aspects of people’s lives, or communities and their
support structures. For example, households and businesses can operate their
own domestic or corporate renewable energy system by installing photovoltaic
panels, a woodchip-fired combined-cycle heating plant or biogas powered tri,
quad- or even quint-generation system, also treating and recycling water and
sequestering CO2, besides supplying power, heat and cooling. Or local
governments can act in this way by investing in a solar thermal field or a wind
farm, or by contracting the delivery of renewable electricity from a private
supplier, within or beyond the local borders. For instance, a new partnership
in solar power development will help yield 100 per cent renewable electricity
for all households for a large city such as Munich, Germany – a city long
devoted to gains in energy efficiency in its building stock and district heating
networks.
As another example of a partial, or ‘systems focused’ 100 per cent policy, the
UK government pursues the goal for all new homes to be ‘zero carbon’ by 2016
– implying the need for a massive proliferation of local, distributed energy sup-
plies. The fact that only 0.1 per cent of UK renewable energy capacity is gener-
ated on public land has been used to illustrate both the woefully inadequate state
of local community and city participation in renewable generation and its ex-
traordinary potential as a future source (Slavin, 2007).
The right policy matters

It is also important to distinguish the quality of policies by their ability to
deliver a fully renewable world. What policies are capable of achieving or
supporting the development of 100 per cent renewable ‘islands’, infrastructure
elements or behaviour, and which are less promising? Emissions trading (ET),
for example, seems like a compelling theory to many market economists. In
theory, ET schemes can help convert pollution debit-derived income into
desperately needed investment in carbon sequestering soils management,
organic agriculture, biochar/pyrolysis programmes and general, massive
forestation programmes, and successful efforts at permanently lowering fossil
energy-based generation.
Today, most ET programmes are used as a general revenue raising tool for
a wide range of purposes – not for narrowly specified beneficiary projects.
Devised such, ET is unable to accomplish significant improvements effectively,
and without being introduced as transitional sunset schemes, as in auctioned
permit-based cap-and-trade arrangements, it cannot lead to the phasing out of
fossil fuel use, just like emissions offsets cannot logically be an effective means
of reliably reducing emissions. As currently practised, ET can and does
marginally support some renewable energy programmes – but at the intoler-
able cost of extending the life of the antiquated systems of non-renewable
power generation. Without a definite zero horizon and vaguely defined

beneficiary projects it does its work incidentally and blindly, following a
theoretical logic of resources flowing to the most efficient, lowest-cost means
of delivery, while in reality most credits flow too often to the most powerful
polluters in the industrial world, as perverse windfall profits. Examples include
the conventional power supply industry under the disastrous early European
experience with ET, and the notoriously inefficient Clean Development
Mechanism. Undeserved profits were also reaped by the early purveyors of the
globally unworkable carbon capture and storage projects, or offset schemes
with uncertain, even net-negative benefit (Lohman, 2007). And in a world of
transnational corporations based trade polluting industries risk being merely
shifted to a pollution credit-rich developing world – the ‘non-abatement
countries’ in UNFCCC parlance, supporting the proliferation of high-emission
practices there (Schreuder 2009).
ET as a concept has been transferred from one context to another, without
considering important distinctions that make this transfer unlikely to succeed.
Derived from the sulphur pollution trading experience in the US, from a
national provision for a relatively reversible pollution agent with regional
impact without terminal time restrictions, it is now applied to a global, not at
all easily reversible problem with global impact and an extremely critical time
Figure 1.5 Not 100 per cent

Source: Ashden Awards/Renewable Devices Swift Turbines
limitation – so critical that time may in fact already be up. To function on the
debit side as an effective emergency measure and transitional market
arrangement, carbon trade would have to be comprehensive and result in the
dramatic and timely reduction of greenhouse emissions. On the credit side, it
also would have to be limited to key, proven and broadly, immediately effective
applications: the storing of carbon in soils and the generation of pure and new
renewable energy, and therefore not cleaner gas, petroleum or coal combustion
technologies, carbon emissions sequestration or nuclear power.
To reiterate: to be effective and useful ET must efficiently function at this
high level of focus and administration on both debit and credit aspects. But
neither is the case: the sulphur trading experience does not lend itself to
application on a global level in any way; and due to its many complexities, ET
has been used to slow, not speed up progress.
Attempts to apply carbon debits and credits to individual efficiency or even
urban-scale projects are bound to get mired in accounting, certification and
monitoring – massive costs arise. By counting proximate, inefficient uses and
users of energy, indirect responsibilities are identified and double-counting
occurs. Because of the nature of power politics, costs are shifted from primary
polluters to consumers. Effective ET also requires a firm time horizon, a sunset
clause aimed at the ultimate elimination by conversion of fossil energy sources.
A healthy example is the early Obama administration’s commitment to a 83
per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, and the linking of a cap-and-
trade scheme with auctioned permits to this – except the final target should be
at least 95 per cent, to meet basic climate stability aims, given the present state
of scientific insight.
Sloppily propagated, misapplied and weakly administered as it is today, the
carbon trade perversely depends on a strong fossil fuel regime to provide the
funding for so-called ‘low-carbon projects’, via pollution permit payments –
without delivering the benefits anywhere nearly as efficiently as other means.
Therefore, many argue with US economist Gilbert Metcalf that if emissions are
to be relied on as a policy tool, rather than a more direct focus on their root
cause as fossil fuel combustion, a carbon tax aimed at producers of coal and
oil would be a more equitable policy-focused and effective approach, raising
US$85 billion annually on a $15 per ton carbon levy (Rotman, 2009), but
carbon tax is used in too few places in the world today or not even discussed
much, thus having little chance of taking the place of ET. To some it still carries
the unhappy connotation of, well, a tax. And it, too, builds dependence on the
revenue from polluters, is difficult to administer fairly, and in itself is too blunt
a weapon in the battle for achieving serious reduction outcomes, particularly
since Metcalf and others propose to spend the revenue on personal income tax
credits, not primarily or directly on renewable energy infrastructure. The
carbon tax revenue is here used as a simple pricing mechanism, to notionally
internalize some environmental costs, with added costs passed on to the
consumer – who then receives the tax increase back as a credit. Used as a
circular scheme the revenue does not promise to be effective in curtailing
emissions nor fostering new technology – nor is it available to innovators,

cities, communities and others that hope to not only benefit from fair
environmental pricing that effectively approximates external costs but also
derive reliable support for individual renewable power production. One
challenge in attempting to internalize the external costs of climate change is
that the price may have to be infinite – given the potential size of the damage.
Renewable energy certificate (REC) trading was intended to help create a
fairer marketplace, but this mechanism, too, has proven to be a disappointing,
limited policy tool. This is unsurprising not only because REC trade, like the
carbon exchange, artificially operates within a global bubble of fossil fuel
subsidies, but also because it gives rise to a complicated and cumbersome
system not easily accessible to small and new players. Also there are risks such
as those arising from uncertainty in future certificate values and the wholesale
price of electricity, which raise investment costs significantly. For RECs to have
a value they require mandatory renewable energy targets to be set. Minimum
targets can become maxima, or can be so quickly taken up by a relative excess
of existing renewable generation assets that an REC market can collapse. A
fundamental policy flaw has been to artificially limit a notional future target,
or to set too short horizons.
But there are other, more effective tools. These also work by framing
markets, markets that are supported by just policies such as national or state
feed-in tariffs (FiT), off-grid, thermal-energy and other targeted regulatory
frameworks, enhanced by revenue or credit support signals and renewable-
content pricing, all supported by the dramatic reduction or elimination of fossil
fuel subsidies. Governments, including local authorities, can also institute
development, production or acquisition support incentives for renewable
technologies. Examples include support for electric car concepts that are
connected to renewable energy supply systems, through zero or strongly
reduced import, sales or excise taxes, loans, grants or even, as a transitional
measure, fee-bate schemes.
Feed-in tariffs
Some schemes are more efficiently focused on renewable electricity
introduction than others. The FiT, described in Chapter 7, has been shown to
be the most efficiently focused, effective and equitable way so far of not only
achieving rapid greenhouse gas abatements but also producing renewable
electricity at the lowest rate of all policy frameworks available (BMU, 2007).
They represent one of two public policy mechanisms available that are capable
of triggering and guiding a 100 per cent renewable conversion. Misinformation
campaigns created the impression that FiTs are expensive, but the opposite is
true. The German Federal Environment Ministry reports that during 2007, the
FiT cost a mere EU€35 per household (BMU, 2008), while it proved drama-
tically effective in generating employment, delivering innovation impulses to
research and development (R&D) and manufacturing, and mitigating fossil
fuel price rises. In that year Germany installed more renewable capacity than
the UK managed in a decade with its certificate-based system, lifting its share
of total electricity to 8.5 per cent, from 7.5 per cent the previous year. Together
with efficiency improvements, a real savings gain of €5 billion is projected for
2020, when compared to the business-as-usual scenario. Other mechanisms
include the removal of all fossil fuel subsidies, direct, indirect and hidden, and
design pricing mechanisms that allow all external costs to be reflected: from
the massive public health cost incurred by fossil air pollution to the cost of oil-
related wars in the Middle East and Africa.
The 100% target faces no technological barrier

A sufficient number of theoretical studies and model simulations has been
conducted to demonstrate that virtually all countries are capable of attaining a
fully renewable energy electricity and wider energy supply system, using a range
of technologies (ALTER, 1996; Lehmann, 2003; Peter and Lehmann, 2004;
Trieb et al, 2006). These models and empirical investigations indicate that
substantial benefits are to be expected from lowered costs in health, ecological
damage and energy expenditures, to employment gains and lowered military
risks. Giving further credence to the practicality of the 100 per cent goal are
many cases illustrating how the market, once even only slightly relieved from its
fossil and nuclear shackles, richly rewards investments in renewable choices with
an enormous stream of innovations. Until the turn of the century, an arduous
Figure 1.6 Solar energy installation in Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel

Source: Alla Leitus
path seemed to stretch from contemporary theory and minority successes to

global, mainstream practice. This outlook very much changed in the 2000s –
certainly in the areas of large-scale wind and sun power installations, as feed-in
tariffs and tax incentives came into effect, and electricity grid price parity
between coal and solar energy approached in large markets such as the US.
Renewable energy investments multiplied, and installed capacity
skyrocketed, admittedly from the very low base where it had languished at for
years. The potential is enormous. Stanford University in the US was the home
to a study modelling global wind power capacity alone, suggesting that all
commercial energy demand, including transport, and more than seven times
global electricity demand could be satisfied through wind energy alone, if only
20 per cent of global potential locations with a 6.9 metres per second wind
speed at 80 metres above ground were provided with standard 1.5 megawatt
(MW) turbines (Archer and Jacobson, 2005). The evidence had long pointed
in this direction, with Germany and other European countries beginning to
reconfigure their national grids to anticipate the enormous if mildly stochastic
power to be derived from the burgeoning wind fields.
David Mills, Canadian-born physicist long based at the University of Sydney,
provides another example of the capacity of large or municipal-scale systems.
Rescued by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Vinod Khosla’s venture capital ingenuity,
Mills escaped the mire of Australian tragically coal-power dominated policies
and was embraced with open arms by California, the state governed by solar
Figure 1.7 Californian governor Schwarzenegger opening Ausra’s Bakersfield pilot,

24 October 2008, the first new Californian solar-thermal plant constructed in 20 years
Source: Ausra
Figure 1.8 A cooling tower for a geothermal power plant in New Zealand
Source: Allan/morgueFile.com
supporter Arnold Schwarzenegger. In doing so, he joined the long tradition of

municipal-scale solar energy initiatives in the country’s southwest. As a physicist
more comfortable with utility-scale technology than with local community
solutions, he also abandoned his long-held hope for integrated energy systems in
cities, realizing that urban communities require adequate municipal power
institutions, complex arrangements and partnerships to change from within.
From his new company Ausra, Mills quickly began to conceive and
implement solar thermal plants based on his linear Fresnel-lens based steam
power plants, building a 25MW demonstration facility in Bakersfield, and
planning a field seven times that size nearby. Mills’ hopes are for the gigawatt
(GW) and terawatt (TW) supply needed to replace coal and even petroleum for
transport, worldwide (Mills and Morgan, 2008). Photovoltaic protagonists are
equally confident: only some 2.5 per cent of the 250,000 square miles of
available land in the US southwest are said to be required to match the
country’s total 2006 energy consumption, along with the high-voltage, direct
current (DC) power lines required to ship the electricity to consumers, for only
$420 billion in subsidies between 2011 and 2050 (Zweibel at al, 2008).
Geothermopolis
The escalating search for urban-scale clean power sources substituting for
conventional sources raises the spectre of geothermal new towns rising –
expanding cities and suburbs located near geological heat stores, much like
early coal towns in the UK forming near mines, rather than in association with
established urban areas. But this seems to be a minor issue compared with the
many positive examples of existing cities expanding their geothermal sources,
following veteran geothermopolises Reykjavik, Iceland, or Rotorua, New
Zealand. These include Anaheim, California; Reno, Nevada; Boise, Idaho
(Jordan, 2009; see also www.c40cities.org/bestpractices/renewables/reykjavik_
geothermal.jsp, www.c40cities.org/bestpractices/renewables/ reykjavik_
geothermal.jsp, www.cityofboise.org/Departments/Public_Works/ Services/
Geothermal/index.aspx, www.trendhunter.com/trends/paris-gets-green-
heating, www.anaheim.net/utilities/news/article.asp?id=663, www.geoheat.oit.
edu/bulletin/bull17-1/art4.pdf); or Munich, Germany, where a long-established
relation with heat carrying aquifers affords virtually 100 per cent carbon-free
heating in some urban redevelopment areas.
Summary: What are the challenges to be overcome?

Addressing challenges today means avoiding being disappointed tomorrow.
There are a number of ways in which 100 per cent can be implemented without
major structural challenges. Examples are the many smaller communities,
islands and partial systems referred to here. On a larger scale, the challenges
are more formidable but not insurmountable. Several broad issues arise at this
level and we examine how to address them here.
Reforming institutional arrangements

Most modern governmental and civic institutions were shaped during, by and
for the fossil fuel economy and its reign over lives, societies, countries and
ideas about the global order. Its rule is epitomized in the great successes of the
20th century, but also in many of its failures. As the fossil era wanes and gives
rise to a renewable world, established municipal, state and national – even
international – organizational structures and response mechanisms are no
longer appropriate. They were tailored to an age of centralized, one-way and
oligarchic power supply structures, and a stark separation between civil and
energy-industrial realms of decision-making. A central feature of this
separation included the rampant privatization of municipal and other public
utilities throughout the 20th century and the modernist maxim of maintaining
a strict divide between mass consumers and producers.
Opportunities arise in broad institutional reform, the move towards
outcome-oriented and accountable organizations, and a growing recognition
that local political leaders and public servants can benefit from boldly leading
a renewable energy geared path. The challenge here is for communities to not
be satisfied with meeting the same old objectives through new management
arrangements focused on process efficiency alone, but to make the
transformation to a 100 per cent fossil fuel free community both the object and
the measure of accountability.
Understanding vested interests and different interests

Global nuclear and fossil fuel lobbies represent an entrenched, powerful and well-
funded force, smart and driven by an abiding mission to increase volume and
market share. They know how to build allies, and learned how to look good in
a smart green suit. These industrialists manage to turn handsome profits even
from global warming. Billions in carbon credits have been claimed and banked,
and windfall profits reaped by polluters in the industrial and developing world.
These free pollution allowances, carbon credits and perversions of the system com-
plicate change, are inflationary without yielding benefits and deprive renewable
energy suppliers of precious resources. While there are many genuine innovators,
‘going green’ is the new black for oil companies, airlines, large developers and
business-as-usual banks – yet all too often without shifting much more than the
headlines on their annual reports. This can take the wind out of the sails of gen-
uinely renewable initiatives, quite literally.
There is also an enormous gap in understanding or broad appreciation of
the great differences between conventional, centrally sourced and controlled,
and renewable, distributed energy systems. Fossil generators and nuclear reac-
tors use increasingly rare, toxic and expensive resources, while most renewable
sources are based on free, virtually unlimited and ubiquitous origins: sunlight.
Associated with this difference are vastly different business models and inter-
ests. Power and profits of conventional miners, generators and distributors are
inextricably linked to the value of the primary source and its processing and
management risks and costs. Mining and processing industries are vast, and
their interests well understood and expressed in many halls of political power.
By definition, renewable industries are smaller in scale and fragmented, and the
harvesting of sunshine, wind or water sources, and to a large extent also that
of geothermal and bioenergy assets, is widely distributed across the globe –
much unlike coal, petroleum and uranium deposits.
By resisting the inexorable end of the fossil power era, the dream of
extending its life through pollution trade has also evoked a nightmare. Yet here
lies an opportunity for the 100 per cent entrepreneur. A growing number of
companies and their CSR unit heads, board members and investors grow
weary of the lack of progress while lip service continues to be paid in rich
quantities. They grow anxious about the lack of progress in combating the
processes of global ecocide, and in capturing opportunities arising from the
historical innovations prompted by a global technological shift. Above all,
many champions of vested interests, too, realize that the greatest threat to
future prosperity lies in rigidly holding on to assets of the past. These
companies and individuals are the allies in the struggle to allow the greatest
and most hopeful paradigm shift of our times to take place.
And the timing is good. While the fossil fuel, coal generation and nuclear
energy complex has been built up over a century, and has an enormous
network of finance, mining, distribution, power conversion and sales interests,
with the policy and R&D capabilities wielding massive influence among
decision-makers, this world is also highly dynamic and inexorably

disintegrating. Smart players hedge their bets or look for exit strategies.
Responsible leaders focus on the energy systems and services business and turn
their backs on fossil and nuclear power altogether. And those with foresight
and planning acumen have already embarked on fully renewable ventures.
Going beyond carbon trade

Emissions trading schemes have the potential to become the Trojan horses of
climate policy. They look convincing and impressive from afar but contain an
aggressive, messy and potentially fatal cargo: allowances for the worst
polluters, the global migration of high-pollution industries to low emission
countries, hilariously inappropriate rewards to dubious abatement schemes in
many developing countries, a cumbersome and expensive process, and a logic
that is fuzzy and vaguely geared towards ‘low-carbon’ schemes and actions.
And by being paired with a blind posture towards a range of so-called low-
carbon technologies and schemes they fail to distinguish the broad and long-
term advantages of renewable power from poor ersatz schemes such as carbon
capture and storage and other ‘clean coal’ technologies, notional deforestation
plans temporarily foregone, carbon sequestration crop planted without proper
planning or management, or biofuel projects in virgin forests. And they are at
best too slow: visible evidence from the Arctic, Antarctic, glaciers, ocean
acidity levels, biodiversity trends, and a host of corollary scientific
observations suggests that by the time a global emissions trading regime may
possibly be framed and its variegated controls and mechanisms reticulated to
a regional and local level in an equitable, transparent and agreed manner – and
if it could ever be made to work – it will be far too late to make a difference.
Bold action has long been overdue, and to continue to bank on merely a round
number, say, the magic 2050 target timeframe, or notional emissions targets or
caps with substantial pollution rights granted, seems more like wishful
thinking than sound public policy.
The opportunity here lies in working with but not only within the process,
that is to say, not expecting locally workable solutions from a global concept,
or relying on it as any form of salvation. While some wait for an impossible cli-
mate Camelot of perfect trade to zero emissions to emerge, the answer lies in im-
plementing regional and local action plans as a matter of urgency. Successful 100
per cent renewable implementation champions understand the weaknesses and
flaws of the Kyoto processes. And hence while they understand the sentiments
and potential benefits, they do not wait with implementing 100% concepts,
be they community or company-wide projects, that is, renewable energy island
schemes or networked infrastructure systems, or both.
Nested supply: A new geography of power and a new social contract emerge
No single level of support will work on its own. At a country or continental
level, comprehensive grids are being discussed and advanced to facilitate
renewable energy interconnection. These massive connections can involve

high-voltage DC links supporting long-distance transmissions at a low loss
rate. Continental solar fields, biofuel resources, offshore wind parks and the
like are envisioned to be linked with pumped-storage and other reserve systems
to replace declining fossil and nuclear power resources. At a national, regional
or even metropolitan scale, smart or intelligent grids are proposed, capable of
two-way information exchange between renewable energy producers and
consumers – many of which may combine the same function in the same
person, group or company. Here, a much wider range of devices, systems and
use modes is coordinated, synchronized, measured and balanced. And within
this system, precincts or individual buildings may function autonomously as
islands, or as positive contributors to the overall energy supply, exporting into
the grid while maintaining their own efficiency management and generation
capability.
Figure 1.9 A local power shortage darkens part of São Paolo: A fossil-fuel city on its knees
– smart grids may help in this situation but long-term relief can only come in combination
with distributed, autonomous renewables, and precinct-based, renewable cogeneration
islands. Rolling brown-outs and unscheduled blackouts are growing occurrences in a
number of cities and will increase with climate change and fossil fuel supply problems
Source: Rafael Rigues
Cities and their renewable future

Each city is different, and so is its potential to rely on renewable power. There
is every indication that the fully renewable re-engineering of existing cities is
technically possible. While the empirical evidence is partial and often indirect,
it is clear that the opportunities to introduce renewable power into the
established urban infrastructure are virtually limitless. The electrification of
individual transport alone, only very recently re-emerging as a possible mass
reality, offers opportunities of vast proportions.
In order to seize these opportunities, three main elements are helpful. First
is a reform or revolution in the institutional arrangements that govern urban
decision-making and infrastructure policies and programmes. Second is the
empowering move of city agendas from introverted localized or bilateral city–
state agendas to multilateral, regional, national and even international
strategies in securing and investing in renewable power assets. Investment in
distributed, local energy is still key – it affords 70–80 per cent efficiency even
when using fossil sources – in contrast to the 30 per cent of traditional,
centralized thermal plants (Casten, 2003). And third is the nurturing and
deployment of bold civic leadership to act in partnership with community-
based organizations, industry and business. Once these elements are put in
place and acted upon, nothing can stand in the way of rapid, positive change
towards a 100 per cent renewable world.
The world is bound to become renewable

Pre-industrial agrarian communities were founded on fossil fuel free energy
sources: manpower, animal strength and the energy in food and feed, plants
and trees as biofuel, water, wind – all based on solar radiation. This is still true
today; sunlight continues to be the most central and elementary source of life
on earth. Even when looking only at the applied energy conversion potential:
this outstrips today’s conventional commercial energy supply by a factor of
10,000. Fossil fuel, while triggering the great explosion of mechanization
known as the Industrial Revolution, may not have been the most essential
ingredient in advancing human civilization, compared to the philosophical and
scientific breakthroughs leading to it. Renewable systems could have
supported equally valuable if different forms of progress: a solar industrial
revolution may not have led to intercontinental missiles, mass aviation,
industrial fertilizers, DDT, mass production and throwaway society, but many
features of progress and change could easily be imagined based on renewable
power alone.
While there are still shrinking pockets of more and less sustainable – or
attractive – forms of energy independence in remote areas of the world, these
have tended to be seen as the impoverished pockets left behind by development
and modern civilization. Today, these pockets of relative underdevelopment
emerge as frontiers of hope, for leapfrogging over the past stages of what has
rapidly become old technology – fossil and nuclear power. This ideal of
Figure 1.10 Boys and solar module, Caoduo school, Rongbo, Yu: Bringing affordable,
high-quality solar lighting to rural China as part of the Renewable Energy Development
Project (REDP), China
Source: Ashden Awards/Martin Wright
pursuing a ‘renewable leapfrog’ in developing countries and their cities would

be aided if national frameworks and international agreements were reached to
ban the promotion and funding of fossil or nuclear fuel-based systems,
prioritizing renewable energy-based urban and regional development
programmes. This principle should be combined with moves to transcend the
structural adjustment programmes of the 1980s, to rebuild local and regional
resilience and self-reliance in food production while enabling education,
technological and scientific advances and nurture indigenous traditions back to
life.
The local case for aiming at the source of emissions

Cities are powerful agents in progress. A lion’s share of global emissions can
be ascribed to their geographical and administrative territory, and a growing
number of programmes focus on cities, from the International Council on
Local Environmental Initiative (ICLEI) and its Cities for Climate Protection
(CCP) campaign to the Clinton Climate Initiative, or the World Future
Council’s Cities and Climate Change efforts. Many cities and towns have
embraced some form of emissions accounting method. In some countries this
Figure 1.11 One of Bangladeshi NGO Shidhulai’s boat libraries visits a remote village in
Raishahi, Bangladesh. The promise of technology leapfrogging with solar-powered boats
bringing education and sustainable energy to remote areas. Electricity on boats is generated
by solar photovoltaic technology
can approach the majority of towns: Australia is one such example where more
than half of ICLEI’s CCP community was founded during the heyday of the
campaign. This has been explained by both a lack of action at the national
level, and – as a seeming paradox – central government funding of such
programmes. Some cynical voices attribute the extraordinary representation of
Australian member cities in CCP to the fact that these local programmes were
unlikely to fundamentally change the energy regime’s big picture.
The local sustainability movement’s emphasis on ‘initiative’, ‘agenda’ and
‘protection’, rather than ‘action’ or actual ‘change’ suggests good intentions
and agreeable commitments to ‘ensuring that future generations are not
deprived of choices’, or similar aspirations of little meaning – but no real,
tangible change. Others call this assessment unfair, pointing to local
government’s presumed limited range of choices. But the reality of examples
suggests otherwise. Quite the contrary, cities and towns are not only quite
capable of responding boldly and in a multitude of ways but they actually do
so, as summarized below.
There is a set of good reasons for local agendas failing to achieve much
progress while focused on emissions policy alone. For one, cities and com-
munities have few means of carrying out long-range planning. It is better to put
Figure 1.12 The clean and

worldwide switch to renewable
power: Competing with
paradoxical, expensive, distant or
inefficient carbon reduction
schemes such as ‘clean coal’
Source: Randy Montoya/Sandia
Corporation
in place the best possible and most effective strategies known at any given time
to get to zero fossil fuel content in energy use (in transport, household,
business and industrial production) and in consumption (embodied energy in
the acquisition of goods and services, also known to some as ‘grey energy’).
Second, after almost two decades of frantic carbon-counting efforts there
is no single agreed-upon method emerging, nor even an agreed principle. While
the Kyoto-based processes provide a framework of national accounts based on
locally generated emissions, to many, this is fundamentally flawed. It does not
reflect actual lifestyle or consumption behaviour, and hence does not fairly
assign responsibility: much of China’s emissions are exported to the US and
other importers of Chinese manufacturing goods. And third, the very notion of
emission counting and its corollary – trading – is a deeply flawed if popular
notion, if only because it does not focus on the sources of emissions, such as
fossil fuel combustion, but on its indirect effects, a proximate force. Cities
operate below the level of national emission accounts and are not usually
equipped to engage in pollution counting programmes in ways that carry much
meaning locally or nationally. Often only corporate – city-asset related –
emissions have been counted, a paltry fraction of total carbon pollution being
emitted within the broad realm of cities and their consumption.
Communities are able to act: Five strategies

Municipal utilities
Direct municipal control over generation proves to be the best way to work
towards a renewable portfolio. While in itself it does not guarantee renewable
outcomes, having control over local energy production provides much more
ability to rapidly respond to the new demands of an increasingly renewable
world, while also offering the strength of being able to build up efficient and
renewable assets over time, compounding the gains of good practice – instead
of being at the whim of generators and distributors without accountability.
Two examples may suffice, one in Europe, one in the US. The Bavarian capital
of Munich houses Germany’s largest municipal enterprise, the Stadtwerke
München. This diverse public works and utility operation has consistently
invested in innovations as diverse as its venerable district heating networks,
geothermal resources, distant offshore wind parks and partnerships in small
local bioenergy or waterpower investment funds, or photovoltaic fields.
Stadtwerke München disprove the myth that municipal utilities are too costly:
in early 2009 municipal energy services in Munich were the second most
affordable of the ten largest cities in Germany (SVM, 2009).
One of the ten largest publicly owned utilities in the US, the Sacramento
Municipal Utility District (SMUD) was formed in 1923 but was not able to
commence operation until 1946, having been fought for decades by
commercial operator Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), a battle that is still not
put to rest. But today, the rise of SMUD as an institution developing and
owning energy assets accountable to the community, overcoming internal
power struggles, is legendary. One of its celebrated steps was to decommission
Sacramento’s troubled nuclear reactor, Rancho Seco, from 1997, after 20 years
of operation and a dozen years after a serious incident occurred in 1985. This
event and other factors gave rise to increased community control over SMUD
decisions. Today, almost 40MW of solar power and 500MW of natural gas-
fired electricity are generated on the site instead. The SMUD story and others
like it also teach how challenging it can be to rebuild enlightened public
control, once it has been abandoned.
The privatization waves of the 1980s, when local and state power and
water utilities and other public assets were sold to private operators, often
international groups and investment schemes, are over. They have given way
to the reacquisition of previous offloaded operations, as contemplated by the
city of Amsterdam, or reassembled in imaginative ways, such as Danish
cooperatives like Copenhagen’s alliance to fund, build and manage its offshore
wind farm, the Middelgrunden Wind Turbine Cooperative. Others pursue such
goals through smaller-area or precinct utilities, or renewable energy service
contracting, long used also for efficiency improvements. Sometimes, legal
obligations toward large and carbon- or uranium-polluted power providers
have to be painstakingly deconstructed, such as when unpopular new coal
generators of multinational operators are made to look more efficient by
providing district heat as a ‘green’ by-product of the vast and excessive

generation of polluted electricity.
Building virtual utilities

When no power generation assets are owned by the community, energy-related
consumption behaviour, efficiency and distributed renewable generation can
be guided by public policy innovation, introducing the virtual utility. States
and large, powerful metropolitan governments, but also smaller communities
with a firm sense of purpose and a modicum of business acumen and corporate
discipline, can act to as virtual utilities. Delaware’s Sustainable Energy Utility
(SEU), has operated since 2008 and has possibly the most comprehensive
strategy in the US – chartered to lower all energy consumption by 30 per cent,
in transport, businesses and homes by 2015. It also involves an equally
comprehensive distributed renewable energy programme – to install 300MW
in new renewable capacity by 2019, hoping to reduce carbon emissions by 30
per cent over 2000 figures, in 2020. It is funded by a monthly surcharge of
$0.36 on electric bills and a $30 million unsecured bond issue paying dividends
on efficiency savings and renewable energy income (Chang, 2008; SEU, 2009).
Building virtual utilities by developing renewable assets

But it is also possible to acquire new assets, a new virtual utility of sorts by directly
purchasing generation capability. Munich, the Bavarian capital, had never given
up its municipal utility, the Stadtwerke München. München decided to plan, de-
velop and operate solar farms, with renewable company Gehrlicher Solar AG. The
aim is to generate in two initial projects 30MW in capacity, part of a strategy to
supply all Munich households with renewable electricity (Witt, 2008).
Virtual renewable energy utilities can be created by virtue of public–private
partnerships, investing in renewable assets in wind, geothermal or sun energy,
acquiring know-how and beginning the process of converting its internal and
external power infrastructure into non-fossil, non-nuclear assets, saving
billions of dollars in years and decades to come. As an example, off its east
coast, the UK not only plays catch-up with its less windy but far more wind-
powered neighbour to the south-west, Germany, but also lays the groundwork
for a 100 per cent renewable London. Both the London Array, and one of the
world’s largest wind farms, the 504MW capacity, 140-turbine Greater
Gabbard project, are due to commence operation in 2011. They are being
developed by Scottish & Southern Energy Plc, with Munich’s Siemens AG and
Texas-based Fluor as the main contractors, for a total fee of $3 billion shared
between both companies (Bergin, 2008).
Setting 100% as a near-term target

The case of Güssing in Austria (see also Chapter 6) has been a micro-model of
commitment for more than two decades. The town laboured under a massive
electricity bill and in the late 1980s began to survey its local and sub-regional
renewable energy sources, notably its bioenergy potential in its farming
community. It rather quickly succeeded in reaching a 90 per cent emissions
reduction level across the community, and promptly attracted a sizeable
number of investors and industries in renewable energy and clean technology.
Today, the town produces more energy than it consumes – all of it from
renewable sources, not unusual for a determined community (for example, the
Bavarian town of Wilpoldsried produced 285 per cent of its energy in exports
in 2009). This story is repeated across most towns and regions on their path to
autonomy – they all set no less than 100 per cent as their target.
Assembling and mobilizing energy city regions

A sound strategy is to form energy compacts across regions and metropolitan
areas. They allow energy islands to be linked, resources to be shared, and
permit the pooling of resources to invest in regional, distant or even offshore
renewable energy projects far beyond the urban boundaries. The Cape Light
renewable energy compact to jointly develop and supply certain coastal
communities on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and its
Land-based Wind Collaborative is one of the earlier examples of collaborative,
multi-municipal renewable energy. While struggling to expand cape wind
resources, Cape Light also provides useful advice on wind development
approaches to individual towns (CLC, 2009). Massachusetts is also home to
one of the world’s largest wind power projects, the 130-generator Nantucket
Sound initiative, long hampered by opposition, but finally overcoming it in
part in the wake of President Obama’s election (Cape Wind, 2009).
The concept and promise of Better Place has prompted Mayor Gary
Newsom to announce an alliance with Oakland and San Jose (Metz, 2008).
The San Francisco Bay Area is a suitable setting for the introduction of Better
Place as a framework for gradually replacing the combustion engine with an
electric motor-based car fleet, following the Israeli initiative, Danish plans and
an Australia initiative. Better Place is described in Chapter 11.
Community-internal systems supporting a 100% path

Renewable networks: Heat, cooling, power
Rotterdam, Copenhagen and Linz are among the cities best know for highly
developed district heating systems. Meanwhile, Linz shows that a reliance on
industrial process waste heat is powerful – more than 80 per cent of
apartments are connected to a city-wide district heating system fed by the
waste heat of industrial areas. But this is also a trap because it discourages the
introduction of cleaner energy sources, such as photovoltaic power, and it
cements a reliance on the very pollution levels that make waste heat possible.
And herein lies Linz’s challenge. The waste heat sources can be reduced or
eliminated through refurbishment of the offending industries and the building
of a renewable base supply infrastructure.
Figure 1.13 Daxu stoves in China: Around 25,000 Daxu stoves have been sold since
production started in 2006. The stoves are designed to burn crop waste
Communities can decide to supply biomass-fed or solar-thermal-based district

heating systems. A renewably powered electric car fleet can be introduced,
using tax incentives and private–public partnership arrangements to facilitate
infrastructure and institutional frameworks. And these elements of a
renewable world can also best be rolled out in an island fashion. In Germany,
for example, cities and communities are encouraged to form linkable heating
networks – islands to be connected over time. The state of Baden-Württemberg
introduced the country’s first renewable heating law on 1 January 2008. One
can see the enormous potential: even in Germany, where district heating
systems have been relatively common for a long time, renewable sources are
still widely underutilized as only some 30 per cent of the wood-based biomass
potential, and less than 1 per cent each of geothermal and solar-thermal
potential are estimated to be utilized (Staißl et al, 2005).
And to reiterate here once more: distributed co-generation, or combined
heat and power, or tri-generation, combining power, heat and cooling, or
quad-generation, adding local sewage, mining, water treatment and recycling
systems, are powerful ways of increasing system efficiency, introducing
renewable energy sources at a large scale and lowering reliance on long-
distance transmission networks, which constitute up to half of total hardware
construction costs of conventional systems.
Figure 1.14 Wood fuel heating for schools in Nottinghamshire, UK: Year 5 children holding
wood pellets at Mornington Primary School where a new boiler has recently been installed
Source: Ashden Awards/Andrew Aitchison
Distributed generation
In the UK, the city of Woking has been called the local capital of distributed
generation, described in Chapter 6. It reached 99.83 per cent autonomy in local
electricity supply across its own corporate assets, and maintains a larger grid
connection for back-up purposes. The sources, not all renewable, rank from
solar to wind, hydrogen, biomass to natural gas. Some 60 generators, from tri-
generation plants to solar arrays, heat, cool and power public buildings,
affordable housing and city centre businesses. Woking ranks very high on the
list of communities that achieved high levels of distributed or micro-generation
success. It is funded from the tremendous efficiency savings made over
conventional supply, and even attracted Danish pension fund investment. This
partial system meant that overall emissions were significantly reduced.
The built environment as energy construct

The hardware of civilization consists of more than clusters of inert containers,
at best harbouring an extraordinary potential for energy efficiency savings.
Cities and their regions represent huge energy generation, management and
distribution opportunities. The pedestrian traffic on pavements, the sunshine
and car traffic impacting on streets and roads, the flow of solid waste and
liquid refuse, the water stream on surface and in the ground, the flow of air,
the solar radiation striking roofs, facades and open spaces, the often enormous
geothermal resources that lie both deep and shallow below the surface, when
taken together, and combined with ubiquitous point-of-demand and renewably
powered heating, cooling and power generation machinery, all are capable of
producing at least as much energy as is required to drive and maintain the host
precinct.
Figure 1.15 After 10,000 years of evolution, the humble roof has found a new and
noble calling, besides keeping out the rain: energy harvesting. Rooftop solar panels in
Neckarsulm-Amorbach, Germany
Source: Joachim Köhler
Theoretically even the largest cities could provide their operational

requirements, if one disregarded embodied energy in the fabric and flow of
consumable goods and services, and included regional energy resources – if
mobilization costs could be disregarded. But despite the odds of pushing a
fundamentally different approach to energy supply, a growing number of
leaders and their communities begin to wonder about that potential, from
Spain to China. Teams worldwide have begun to map and calculate the
capacity of neighbourhoods, settlements, cities and even regions to convert
renewable sources into working energy – adding to the capacity of the
business, residential and industrial worlds to innovate, co-generate and
distribute energy flows.
The German architect and planner Dagmar Everding has developed a
typology of standardized urban patterns prevalent in German cities,
calculating their respective potential for converting sunshine into electric and
thermal energy (Everding, 2007). Her pattern book has been developed in part
with the Dutch-based consulting firm Ecofys, and is used in several cities as a
basis for developing renewable energy capacity assessments and local energy
plans. Berlin’s solar framework plan (Solarer Rahmenplan), too, is an example
for her school of precinct-type based solar potential assessments.
Using a more interactive approach geared to individual users, the city of
Osnabrück has been the focus of a software pilot project, using satellite data
to map the city’s solar potential (http://www.osnabrueck.de). Similar efforts
are now underway at national government level, experimenting with a set of
studies at local level, to better understand the potential of such satellite and
aerial data, geographic information systems, and the characteristic patterns of
urban settlements, precinct prototypes and open space qualities to assess and
map the total generation potential across a wider range of renewable energy
technologies, including biomass, geothermal and hydropower. This book
features the work of one of the most important protagonist teams in this field
in Chapter 14.
National and international infrastructures

Germany has long moved to upgrade its high-voltage grid to take account of
massively increased wind power, largely thanks to a super-effective feed-in
legislation. This involves not only greater capacity but also the software and
systems control and guidance provisions to balance and dispatch a generally
predictable but in detail inevitably stochastic source. Early directions and
planning are evident in the investigations by Germany’s Energy Agency, of the
mid-2000s, the so-called dena grid study (dena, 2005).
Supergrids
Several large grid initiatives have emerged since the mid-2000s to shore up
international renewable power supply using high-voltage DC over large
distances. Most have claimed the prefix ‘super’, from Airtricity’s hydrogen-
transmitting and supercooled grid proposal for the North Sea to the plans by
the Obama administration for the US. Supergrid concepts are not new, and
have in this millennium been aired in venues such as the 2002 National Energy
Supergrid Workshop sponsored by the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champagne (UIUC, 2002).
Like smart grids, supergrids are not necessarily conduits for 100 per cent
renewable power. Sometimes the latter are proposed as a means to make
nuclear power attractive again. The term supergrid has been heard in calls for
greater conventional energy security, say, to mitigate Russia’s threat to strangle
Europe with various power chokes, by patching Baltic, North Sea and
Mediterranean grids together, or by implementing alternative natural gas
supply rings and access sources. In Europe and across the US, however,
supergrids could well help shift great quantities of renewable electricity derived
Figure 1.16 Berlin’s solar framework plan

Source: Berlin Digital Environmental Atlas, Urban and Environmental Information System (UEIS),
Berlin Department for Urban Development

Figure 1.17 Chicago streets

Source: David Niblack
from wind and solar power from Nevada and Arizona to other states, or from
Scotland’s enormous tidal, wave and wind resources across Europe, as part of
the European North Sea Offshore Grid initiative. An agreement between
Norway and The Netherlands follows a much earlier agreement with Denmark
to use Norwegian water resources to balance the variability of the wind (see
www.terrawatts.com; http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_
sectors/natural_resources/article5142622.ece). Going further from ‘super’ to
‘super smart’ in the battle of the self-bestowed grid accolades, a coalition of
large power utilities and environmental groups including WWF and Vattenfall
Europe Transmission announced on 3. July 2009 the Renewables Grid
Initiative (RGI) to promote the integration of distributed renewables sources.
The RGI is founded on the ideas of Antonella Battaglini, Process Leader of the
SuperSmart Grid Project in the European Climate Forum (see
http://www.renewables-grid.eu; www.european-climate-forum; www.pik-
potsdam.de).
Also across Europe, the earlier and controversial Trans-Mediterranean
Interconnection for Concentrating Solar Power (TRANS-CSP) project was
aimed at interconnecting the electric grids of Europe and North Africa, with
the aim of importing solar energy from solar thermal (CSP) sources in North
Africa, at a rate of some 15 per cent of Europe’s electricity demand by 2050.
An early planning study was funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for
Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and completed
by an eight-member consortium comprised of German, Egyptian and Algerian

firms and agencies, led by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The study
found, based on modelling for 30 European countries from 2000 to 2050, that
a full renewable power supply was possible, indeed, there is a capacity of some
145 per cent of conventional electricity supply supplied through a grid of pan-
European biomass, hydropower, geothermal and solar energy assets, linked
through a new DC grid supplementing an upgraded alternating current (AC)
network (Trieb et al, 2006). Critics point out the many environmental, political
and efficiency difficulties with schemes so founded on the big infrastructure
dreams of the late 19th century, while diverting much needed funds for locally
integrated and controlled sources. Undeterred, the DESERTEC Foundation
emerged from TRANS-CSP, with its well-heeled dream to supplement
European renewable renewable energy sources with DC-wired desert sun
courtesy of North Africa (http://www.desertec.org; http://eurosolar.de/de/
index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1161&Itemid=324).
First step to a supergrid: Australia’s renewable energy backbone

Supergrid elements can be built gradually. Australia’s private sector proposed
Inland Electricity Transmission Connection is an example of a long-mooted
simple DC feeder, linking across 1200 kilometres (km) of Australian inland
territory, considered largely desert, but rich in minerals and now suddenly
appreciated at a commercial scale – hot dry rock geothermal resources, wind
and sun exposure. Poetically dubbing these vast potential wind, solar thermal
and geothermal resources as ‘the National Energy Market’s (NEM) Inland
Energy Farm’, entrepreneurs call for the government to unlock it by
introducing a 1200km 350 kilovolt (kV) DC line with 300MW capacity,
linking the northeast of South Australia with the south-western corner of
Queensland, and their respective AC grids (Evans and Peck, 2008).
Smart grids
Grid upgrades have long gripped the imagination of the electricity distribution
community, software world, control industry and political leaders alike. Power
networks have long been neglected in infrastructure thinking, stuck very much
in early Tesla time – the pioneering days of wired electricity. In the developing
world, too, ‘electrification’ has meant the stringing of high-tension wires over
long distances, hooking communities to the gargantuan, wasteful guzzlers of
cooling water that were thermal reactors fuelled with uranium, coal, gas or
even oil. Today, a race is underway to improve the capability of networks: to
respond to failures more quickly, maintain interaction between customers and
suppliers to manage failures, allow home reading of live usage and facilitate
the two-way flow of electricity.
Figure 1.18 Old-fashioned power and telephone lines sagging after heavy ice storm.
New integrated services power and information networks (the ‘e-web’;
see Droege, 2006) and increased embedded, distributed, stand-alone
RE systems mitigate climate change and enhance resilience
Source: noaa.gov
These relatively mild enhancements came much later than the revolutions in
the telecommunications world, and only after the rise of terrorist threats and
severe power outages struck California and the northeast of the US in the early
to mid-2000s. Measures included software innovations, control hardware and
management reforms. Initially also conceived to learn about smaller power
failures and enhance customer understanding of efficient behaviour, they have
now given way to more serious, if increasingly Orwellian, thoughts about
managing a wide array of diverse inputs from small solar panels to massive
wind parks, municipal-scale solar-thermal fields or wave power stations – and
connect to a myriad of storage devices, from traditional pumped dams to
stationary chemical, mechanical or electrical batteries and devices, to mobile
storage in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. A truly smart grid would also
facilitate 100 per cent renewable power and include virtual network features,
local area management and interactive trades across a number of communities
– the e-web (Droege, 2006).
Demand-driven improvements, long resisted by the power carriers and
fund-starved managers of public assets, inevitably took on features of
technology convergence familiar from the heyday of the early information
revolution: the merger and partial crossover of voice, data and image media. It
Figure 1.19 A 1:10,000 scale working model of an autonomous renewable electricity

supply system for Germany
Source: Agentur für Erneuerbare Energien e.V. www.unendlich-viel-energie.de / kombikraftwerk.de
Figure 1.20 Local distribution heritage: Street wire tangle

Source: Darrell Rogers
is little surprise that the most imaginative players include software moguls like
Shai Agassi, initiator of Better Place, the electric car package; IBM and its
Smart Grid initiative; and Google who joined the Californian Demand
Response and Smart Grid Alliance in November 2008, releasing Google
PowerMeter in February 2009, a software application aimed at the home-
based smart grid user (see http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10160234-
54.html; www.smartgrids.eu/; http://smartgridnews.com; http://money.cnn.
com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0477001.htm;
www.ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid; www.oe.energy.gov/smartgrid.htm).
Not ‘super’ but smart: The arrival of the virtual power plant
The year after the old TRANS-CSP study was completed, three German com-
panies, Enercon, Schmack Biogas and Solarworld, under the auspices of the Berlin-
based Agency for Renewable Energies, released the results of an experiment they
conducted to demonstrate the ability of renewable energy to supply all of the elec-
tricity requirements of Germany. They linked 36 renewable energy sources and
management points across the country: a pumped-water storage facility for general
balancing, 4 biogas block heating plants, 11 wind parks and 20 solar power plants.
Daily weather prognoses were used to gauge general demand and supply balances
and real-time data to fine-tune supply with up-to-the minute accuracy. Because
biogas is also a storage medium, the block heating units served as peak-shaving
and not base load suppliers, and hence the main balancing tool to manage fine
changes in the supply-demand profile. The experiment was scaled to represent
1:10,000 of Germany’s total electricity demand, supplying the equivalent of near-
ly 18,000 households.
Repowering America: A call for a renewable national power grid

The vision of a fully fossil and nuclear free world has also inspired some
progressive leaders on these issues: for example, Al Gore presented the US
Congress on 17 July 2008 with ‘A Generational Challenge to Repower
America’, to move to 100 per cent renewable electricity within ten years. The
four pillars of this proposed programme are no surprise: greater energy
efficiency (difficult to achieve in a decade, except for new assets); renewable
energy generation such as solar, wind and geothermal power; a national power
grid integration programme involving both continental and local smart grid
networks; and, as an integral vision to an advanced grid, the shift away from
dumb internal combustion engines to reformed national assembly lines
producing intelligent electric vehicles. Their collective battery power offers an
enormous balancing capacity for renewable energy resources (TA, 2008).
Postscripts
These national efforts, especially those driven by incumbent industry agendas,
only reinforce the need for urban and community-based action. National and
international agendas remain uncertain. The popular hunger for a renewable
world underpinned, at least in part, Barack Obama’s 2009 election win: he had
embraced a renewable energy supportive agenda to be part of his election
promises. But it is wise to remember that he joined other US leaders before
him, including President Jimmy Carter, who already in 1979 had solar hot
water heaters installed in the White House, and announced his ‘solar strategy’.
Under Ronald Reagan the panels were removed, and after an odyssey that
included their symbolic hosting in Unity College near Bangor, Maine, they have
now become a display item in the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library (Clark,
2007).
In installing the solar water heating system, Jimmy Carter identified a
generation ago a civilization at a crossroads, and we are still lingering
indecisively at this very crossroads today. Carter declared:
a generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a

museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be a small part
of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by
the American people; harnessing the power of the Sun to enrich our lives
as we move away from our crippling dependence on foreign oil.
A year later, US domestic oil production capacity peaked, as had been predicted
by Shell geophysicist Marion King Hubbert a generation earlier (Hubbert,
1956) yet the road was abandoned, and again under Bill Clinton and Al Gore’s
time in office. 1980 is also the year when the Federal Emergency Management
Agency issued its futile call for a renewable America (FEMA, 1980).
Figure 1.21 Gasoline ration coupon: Coupons were printed for emergency use (but never
issued) during the energy crisis in 1979
Source: United States Department of Energy
While today a different awareness has arisen, with the spectre of catastrophic
global warming etched into growing parts of the public (sub)conscience, adding
to the managed energy security dangers that marked the early and mid-1970s,
it is wise to not entirely rely on national or international processes alone.
A prospect: What future for air traffic?

Aviation can be renewable, too, but whether mass air travel can or should
possibly be sustained without a landing at saner levels is another question,
certainly in the context of its evolution in the 1990s and 2000s. Solar, wind,
geothermal or oceanic power hydrogen production plants could one day be
ready to power airplanes, while biofuel offers extremely marginal prospects in
the short-term only – such as attempts to combine landfill waste, sorghum,
wood chips and other sources into aviation biofuel (McDermott, 2008).
Indeed, plant-based fuel production is far more inefficient than solar thermal
or electric conversion, and often competes with food production. Excessive air
travel, and aviation more broadly, must inexorably be corrected downward in
a healthy way. So-called Airotropolis (airport city) schemes (Kasarda,
undated), urban development programmes banking on airport expansions and
associated business development, belong to the energy-blind days of yesteryear.

Instead, regional development and re-localization are the call of the day, with
a far more selective application of airborne modes of conveyance.
... and a caveat: Does renewable always mean sustainable?
Figure 1.22 Aerial view of Levittown, Pennsylvania, circa 1959

Source: National Archives and Records Administration
Solar, wind and many other renewable sources are ubiquitous in their genera-
tion potential. Others, such as large wave power fields, or geothermal sources
can provide very substantial amounts of energy, but only in specific locations.
Both often benefit from being used locally, saving the installation of expensive
and sometimes extensive grid connections for new industrial or residential de-
velopments. But this very benefit removes one more important constraint on ur-
ban sprawl. Indeed, the lifting of constraints inherent in urban infrastructure in-
novations has had profound and not always positive implications for the form
of cities and their impact on natural or rural areas. Cities have spread and be-
come global, virtual network features, from horse-and-buggy to the streetcar, elec-
trified suburbs and the motorcar, telecommunications and mass air travel (Droege,
2006). Urban sprawl is considered a major cost of the fossil fuel era and its car
dependent, heavy infrastructure-based ideas. While most of these innovations were

driven by petroleum-enabled technologies, there is nothing inherently healing about
renewable energy when it comes to urban sprawl. The spread of solar suburbs
and off-grid vacation homes in the US’s south-east, such as Arup Engineer’s so-
lar expansion of 300,000 inhabitants in Phoenix, Arizona (Boyd, 2007), or the
development of cottages in the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay, Canada, raise
important challenges. And so do large-scale, renewably themed development ini-
tiatives – many endowed with global brand name designer and engineering cre-
dentials – unless these became embedded in larger, authentic renewable city re-
generation efforts, and in many cases, become replaced by these.
The application of renewable energy in itself does not always alter the logic
of development. Its power to both disconnect urban development from existing
cities and to sometimes be used as a promotional argument to accept certain
other environmental or social costs only amplifies the need to carefully push
and plan the integration with existing centres, with the preservation and
renewable regeneration of existing urban areas and with the un-building or un-
development of potentially healthy natural areas, not seeing ‘renewable’ as
always synonymous with ‘sustainable’.
While a 100 per cent renewable energy base alone is not sufficient for
sustainable practice, it is its conditio sine qua non – sustainability’s necessary
condition. May this book be a contribution towards achieving true
sustainability founded on a fossil fuel and nuclear free reality.
Figure 1.23 Vision of the Western Australian capital city, Perth, supported by photovoltaic
or solar-thermal fields anchoring a diverse city region developed around urban agriculture,
forest and wetland resources
Source: Weller (2009)
Conclusions
In a summary conclusion, the successes and potentials represented in this book
demonstrate that a move to a 100 per cent renewable civilization is not only
required but indeed possible.
Signs of a great shift are visible everywhere, particularly where people live
and work (and where a lion’s share of global fossil energy is consumed) in
cities. These include:
• resuscitated efficiency programmes such as those reinforced by the Clinton
Climate Initiative, and many national efforts, from the Swiss Minergie
framework, to German efficiency legislation, or the reborn state-based and
locally focused US megawatt drives;
• demand reduction efforts in transport such as the compact-city and public
transport movements, and less frequently, in lifestyle changes such as urban
agriculture and re-localization initiatives (including those that take place on
the White House lawn);
• urban-integrated renewable energy systems, such as those assisted by feed-
in tariffs: building integrated photovoltaics, distributed renewable
cogeneration plants, small wind and hydropower, or geothermal energy;
• regional renewable supply in solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass
use;
• system-penetrating sectoral transformations, such as in moves towards
entirely renewable transport means, such as a solar powered and shared
electric vehicle fleets;
• the rising realization that the MDGs can by definition only be attained in a
developing and industrialized world that is founded on a fully renewable
energy base.
References
ALTER – Le Groupe de Bellevue 1978 (1996) ‘A study of a long-term energy future
for France based on 100% renewable energies’, in The Yearbook of Renewable
Energies 1997/96, Ponte Press, London
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of Geophysical Research, vol 110, D12110,
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Bergin, T. (2008) ‘World’s largest offshore wind farm in the works’, Reuters
Environment News, 14 May, www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/
idUSL1483748320080514
BMU (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear
Safety) (2008) ‘Renewable energy sources in figures: National and international
development’, BMU, Berlin
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27 November, www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=284&storycode=
3100805&c=2
Cape Wind (2009) ‘America’s first offshore wind farm on Nantucket Sound’,
www.capewind.org/
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generation paradigm’, USAEE/IAEE,
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Tom-Casten-USAEE-IAEE.pdf
Chang, S. A. (2008) ‘The rise of the energy efficiency utility’,
www.spectrum.ieee.org/may08/6216
Clark, T. (2007) ‘White House solar panel goes on display at Carter Library. 1979
effort to encourage alternative energy sources became “Road not taken”, Jimmy
Carter Library & Museum News Release, 27 March,
www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/newsreleases/2007/07-18.pdf
CLC (Cape Light Compact) (2008) ‘Powering Cape Cod and Martha’s Vinyard’,
www.capelightcompact.org/ and www.capelightcompact.org/landbased_wind.html
dena (2005) ‘Planning of the grid integration of wind energy in Germany, onshore
and offshore up to the year 2020’, Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH, www.wind-
energie.de/fileadmin/dokumente/Themen_A-Z/Netzausbau/stud_summary-dena_grid
.pdf
Droege, P. (2006) Renewable City: Comprehensive Guide to an Urban Revolution,
Wiley, Chichester
EREC (European Renewable Energy Council) and Greenpeace (2007) Future
Investments Study, EREC and Greenpeace, Brussels,
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/sweden/rapporter-och-
dokument/energirevolution.pdf
Evans&Peck (2008) ‘Inland electricity transmission connection. Submission to
Infrastructure Australia/Allocation from the Building Australia Fund’,
www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/public_submissions/published/
Everding, D. (ed.) (2007) Solarer Städtebau, Kohlhammer
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) (1980) Dispersed, Decentralised
and Renewable Energy Sources: Alternatives to National Vulnerability and War,
FEMA, Washington, DC
Hansen, J., Sato, M., Kharecha, P., Beerling, D., Berner, R., Masson-Delmotte, V.,
Pagani, M., Raymo, M., Royer, D. L. and Zachos, J. C. (2008) ‘Target atmospheric
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Homer-Dixon, T. (2009) The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the
Renewal of Civilization, Resource & Conflict Analysis, Inc. and Island Press,
www.worldwatch.org/node/6008
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Johnson, P. (2006) Ecological Footprint Accounting for Western Australia: Technical
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Jordan, A. (2009) ‘Reno: America’s biggest little geothermal city’, Wall Street Journal,
5 March
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Innovation (ISUSI), Aachen
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Chapter Two
Institutions for a 100%
Renewable World
Hermann Scheer
Mandated by governments worldwide, IRENA aims at becoming the

main driving force in promoting a rapid transition towards the wide-
spread and sustainable use of renewable energy on a global scale.
Acting as the global voice for renewable energies, IRENA will
provide practical advice and support for both industrialized and develop-
ing countries, help them improve their regulatory frameworks and build
capacity.
The agency will facilitate access to all relevant information including
reliable data on the potential of renewable energy, best practices, effective
financial mechanisms and state-of-the-art technological expertise.
(Federal Ministry for the Environment,
Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, 2008)
The future of power lies with renewable energies. The limits of fossil and
nuclear energy are more than obvious. Civilization stands at a critical decision
point. The global community can continue down the path to self-annihilation
by wasting trillions of precious funds in oil drilling, shale, tar sand and frozen
methane production, and pursuing hopeless nuclear fission and fusion
research. Or it can end the madness of a bygone era and focus its remaining
resources on a strategy of survival and prosperity by building an efficient,
equitable and sustainable power infrastructure based on renewable energy.
Recognize the limits in order to overcome them

The first limitation of the conventional power system is physical. The energy
demand of a growing world population increases at a faster pace than the gains
in energy efficiency and conservation. Mineral resources are limited. Every
thinking person understands that oil, gas, coal and uranium reserves are finite,
but not everyone yet understands that production capacity is very likely to
already be in decline today – while demand continues to soar. This inexorably

results in spiralling energy prices, supply shortages in many national economies
and social problems for an increasing number of countries and their citizens.
Access to energy has become a global political issue. But as long as all eyes are
on the old paradigm of power control there is little hope of transcending this
dreadful policy and action conundrum, this state of paralysis. The call for 100
per cent renewable energy is essential to help us focus on the far more
advanced, essential new energy paradigm.
The direct costs of conventional energies can only rise while those of
renewable energies can only fall. Renewable energies are by definition in
infinite supply and, with the exception of biomass, their primary source is free.
Costs for the production of energy deriving from renewable sources include the
required technologies, the hardware and services associated with it, but not for
fuels. Only biomass-derived energy creates source costs due to the agricultural,
forestry and other inputs required to grow, manage, harvest and process
plants. The cost of technology falls due to economies of scale and the predicted
rise in the productivity of the deployed technologies, which are still
comparatively young. Today’s higher costs for renewable energies, where these
still apply, are essential for an economically viable future energy supply,
available everywhere and for everyone. This promising future is closer than
most people think, or would have us believe, particularly those who have
ignored or underestimated the potential of renewable energies. Among these
culprits are governments, scientists and dominant sections of the conventional
energy sector.
The second limitation imposed by the conventional system of energy supply
is ecological. Even if vast new oil, gas or coal reserves were to be found, world
civilization could ill afford their use. The ecosphere’s capacity to mitigate dam-
ages has already been breached. The switch to renewable energies has to occur
now – long before fossil fuels are depleted. The window of effective action may
be as small as ten years, perhaps less. We are in a race against time.
But even if manmade global warming or fossil fuel depletion did not exist,
the global energy system would still not be healthy. Their environmental, social
and economic costs are enormous. Current energy prices do not reflect these
costs – but they are being paid nonetheless. Only renewable energy can liberate
society from these shackles.
And yet there are those who regard any sensible response to this existential
challenge as an economic burden. This argument is built upon a short-sighted
fallacy that has been long unmasked but that continues to cast a heavy shadow
on the current energy discussion, in this lingering climate of so-called economic
rationalism. The switch to renewable energy promises a number of powerful
political, economic, social and ecologic benefits, many of them quantifiable.
These are usually overlooked in the laser-like focus at microeconomics, or in
the terribly limited and insular cost comparisons of various energy invest-
ments. A macroeconomic, comprehensive view leads to a dramatically
different understanding.
INSTITUTIONS FOR A 100% RENEWABLE WORLD 51
Yet while macroeconomic benefits are powerfully evident, they cannot

deliver microeconomic benefits for every player in the national economy. Well-
informed and far-sighted political measures and instruments are mandatory to
translate macroeconomic benefits into microeconomic gains and incentives. A
good example of this principle is the German renewable energy sources or
feed-in tariff law. Since renewables so clearly have macroeconomic benefits for
society as a whole, they have been supported by law in Germany, initially in
the production of electricity. Guaranteed grid access for renewable electricity,
a guaranteed FiT – without cap – dramatically lowers the investment risk for
renewable energy producers. This law abolished market barriers stimulating
investments effectively.
While it has been obvious for some time that renewable power is essential
for a survivable future, most countries are not very well prepared for the inevitable
transition. It began to dawn on world governments only recently that renewable
policies have to be focused on and promoted. Hence implementation lags mas-
sively behind. Many countries encourage the production and use of renewable
energy at political and economic levels, but woefully few have drafted and im-
plemented any ambitious policies so far, with the necessary scientific, technological
and industrial prerequisites at their disposal. It is no small wonder: the limitless
sources of the sun have been marginalized effectively and methodically rendered
irrelevant in the global energy discourse throughout the 20th century.
Institutionalizing energy innovation after World War II

In the 1940s and 50ies, energy policy focus began to be trained on nuclear
power, in the US starting with the founding of the Atomic Energy Commission
(1947) and President Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace programme (1953). The
attitude towards nuclear energy then was the opposite of how renewables were
treated until recently: potentials were wildly overstated and the risks woefully
underestimated. Virtually all industrialized countries of any ambition felt
compelled to bias their national energy strategies towards nuclear. To support
this trend, two international institutions were established in 1957: EURATOM
in Western Europe and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with
its global focus. The establishment of the latter was welcomed by the UN but
not embraced as part of the UN family. In 1956, 82 UN member states
negotiated the Treaty that entered into force the following year (Fischer, 1997).
The IAEA is not only charged with preventing the abuse of fissile material,
but also carries the mandate to help governments develop nuclear energy
programmes, to facilitate technology transfer and build human resource
capacities. Yet atomic energy’s star, once shining so bright, has long been
eclipsing, even if the industry refuses to accept this. The IAEA, half a century
old, does well in this self-perpetuating demi-world, with some 2200 employees
(http://www.iaea.org/About/staff.html) and an annual budget of more than
$250 million.
The quest for an energy agency of the future

Renewable energies represent the very future of global energy supply and yet
no adequate agency was created to promote their spread. This glaring
imbalance between societal demand and policy support alone provides a
powerful motive for setting up an agency chartered with the massive spread of
renewables: the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The call to
establish such an agency was raised for the first time 28 years ago in the
context of the North–South Commission’s Report chaired by former German
Chancellor Willy Brandt. The establishment of IRENA was recommended in
the final resolution of the first UN conference on renewable energy in Nairobi
in 1981, the Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy. Never-
theless, these recommendations remained largely unheeded. It was argued that
it would suffice to entrust existing UN organizations with the promotion of
renewable power.
Yet the need to squarely focus on promoting renewables internationally
grew steadily. The 1973 oil crisis showed plainly that the oil age would not last
forever. To primarily help monitor and manage security of fossil supplies, the
OECD countries established the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 1974,
called for by Henry Kissinger a year earlier: ‘the answer could only be… a
massive effort to provide producers an incentive to increase their supply, to
encourage consumers to use existing supplies more rationally and to develop
alternative energy sources’ (Kissinger, December 1973, cited in Parra, 2004).
Because of its focus on the needs of industrialized, largely oil-consuming
countries, the IEA did not evolve into a UN agency either – it was soon
regarded as a ‘Club of the Rich’. After the European Atomic Energy
Community (EURATOM) and the IAEA, a third international organization
covering energy matters had thus been established. All three maintain powerful
industry and government links – part of a dangerous collusion to exclude
renewable energy from mainstream discourse and policy platforms.
Although most industrialized nations announced initial R&D programmes
for renewable energy after the oil crisis, the priority of R&D funding lay
elsewhere. When oil prices declined in the early 1980s, most countries scaled
back their nascent renewable initiatives. This soon triggered unrest. The 1980s
and 1990s witnessed a growing and widespread unease about the mounting
nuclear and fossil energy dependence, its risks and its costs. The Chernobyl
disaster in 1986, the Three Mile Island near-melt down in 1978, a year after
the plant’s commissioning, and a series of other mishaps combined with the
madness of the atomic arms race to compound the strong resistance to nuclear
power. The 1990s, with climate change reports growing increasingly alarming,
saw a further surge in criticism of the fossil energy conundrum. But these calls
reached the mainstream international energy discussion terribly late, so
entrenched was the belief that there would not be a realistic alternative to
conventional energies.
IRENA rising
To help counter this myth, various scientific studies were conducted to show
that a complete energy supply with renewables would be feasible. Examples
include a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists in the United States in
1979 (Kendall and Nadis, 1980); a publication of the Club de Bellevue, an
initiative of scientists from leading French research institutes (ALTER, 1978);
or a Europe-wide study released by the Institute of Applied Systems Analysis
in Laxenburg (Austria) in 1982 (www.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/PUB/Documents/WP-
82-126.pdf). The technical capacity to transform the global energy system
clearly existed, the societal need clearly existed, and yet there were no
international policy sources or high-level advocates to help bring about choices
and pave the way for a massive shift towards renewables.
In 1990, the European Association for Renewable Energies, Eurosolar,
drafted the first comprehensive memorandum on establishing IRENA,
publishing it widely. At the invitation of the former energy commissioner of the
UN Secretary General, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, I presented this
memorandum at the UN headquarters in New York. UN Secretary General
Perez de Cuellar responded by establishing a task force, UNSEGED (United
Nations Solar Energy Group on Environment and Development). UNSEGED,
chaired by Professor Thomas Johansson, concluded that the establishment of
an International Renewable Energy Agency was necessary. This proposal was
aimed at the Rio Conference of 1992 and it was expected that this conference
Figure 2.1 Delegates at the International Parliamentary Forum on Renewable Energies,

June 2004, Bonn, agreeing on the final resolution
Source: Aribert Peters
would establish the agency. At the invitation of the US Senate, the

Interparliamentary Conference on the Global Environment took place in
Washington DC in 1991, chaired by Senator Al Gore. At this conference, I
proposed that the Conference’s resolution should also speak in favour of the
establishment of IRENA. This proposal was adopted unanimously.
But opposition soon rose, for various reasons. Existing UN organizations
that were partly active in the field of renewables, but with far less sweeping
capability than what the IRENA initiative implied, spoke out against the
establishment of the agency. Some members of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) saw IRENA as a potential threat, opposing its
establishment. The idea was also rejected by those that simply lacked the vision
to see the potential for renewable energy sources to supply the world’s energy
needs. Finally and predictably, the conventional energy organizations resisted
the emergence of a new and focused agency. Until now, even though the need
for a renewable world vision has become so overwhelming no-one has been
able to explain how the global spread of renewables can be carried without an
appropriately empowered and newly chartered institution dedicated to the
global renewable revolution, and matching the charters and impact of, say, an
IAEA or IEA.
For many years, at international conferences in numerous countries, I have
advocated the establishment of IRENA. Prerequisite for the founding has
always been that one or more governments would take the initiative and build
a coalition of like-minded countries. To avoid the notorious compromises and
lack of a clear focus of past UN and other efforts, the focus was on purely
intergovernmental alliances, an entirely new initiative free of historical
shackles. One important recent milestone on the way towards establishing
IRENA has been the 2004 International Parliamentary Forum on Renewable
Energies, which was hosted by the German parliament, taking place in parallel
to the governmental conference ‘Renewables2004’. I convened 300 members
of parliament from 70 countries to take part in this conference.
The Final Resolution states:
Promoting renewables requires new institutional measures in the field of

international cooperation. To facilitate technology transfer on renew-
ables and energy efficiency and to develop and promote policy strategies,
the most important institutional measure is to establish an International
Renewable Energy Agency…, which should be set up as an international
intergovernmental organization. Membership would be voluntary, and
all governments should have the opportunity to join at any time. The
Agency’s primary tasks would be to advise governments and
international organizations on the development of policy and funding
strategies for renewables use, to promote international non-commercial
technology transfer, and to provide training and development. (www.ipf-
renewables2004.de/IPF_Resolution_en.pdf)
On 26 and 27 January 2009, IRENA’s founding conference and inaugural

preparatory commission meetings were held in Bonn, with 75 inaugural
signatories and more than 120 participating nations. This move was necessary
and long overdue, for reasons that have now become plain and commonplace.
On 29 and 30 June 2009 the agency’s second preparatory meeting was held in
Sharm-el-Sheikh where the number of members jumped to 136, as the US,
Australia, Japan and Liechtenstein joined. The assembly chose the agency to be
headquartered at Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, with Bonn and Vienna as
specialised headquarter centres, and France’s Hélène Pelosse serving as Interim
Director General. IRENA’s success will be measured by how effectively it
pursues the goal of a fossil fuel and nuclear free world.
References
ALTER (Le Groupe de Bellevue) (1978) A Study of a Long-Term Energy Future
for France based on 100% Renewable Energies, reprinted in The Yearbook of
Renewable Energies 1995 (1995), James and James, London
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
(2008) Founding an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Promoting
Renewable Energy Worldwide, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Public Relations Division, Bonn,
www.irena.org/downloads/IRENA_brochure_EN.pdf
Fischer, D. (1997) History of the International Atomic Energy Agency: The First
Forty Years, Division of Publications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna,
www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1032_web.pdf
International Parliamentary Forum on Renewable Energies (2004) ‘Renewable
energies – The Challenge for the 21st century’, www.ipf-
renewables2004.de/IPF_Resolution_en.pdf
Kendall, H. and Nadis, S. J. (eds) (1980) Energy Strategies: Towards a Solar Future.
Report of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge
Parra, F. (2004) Oil Politics, A Modern History of Petroleum, I. B.Tauris, London
and New York, www.amazon.com/Oil-Politics-Modern-History-
Petroleum/dp/1860649777#reader
Chapter Three
The Renewable Imperative:
Providing Climate Protection
and Energy Security
Hans-Josef Fell
One world summit follows on the heel of another. Whether G8 Summit,

European Council, World Climate Conference, East Asia Summit or the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference
of the Parties (COPs) – the energy conundrum has moved squarely into the
centre of attention. Yet while some conferences focus on climate protection
and others on energy security, no summit has produced a solution. Some seek
to stabilize the climate by reducing emissions. Others still regard the intensified
development of crude oil, natural gas and hard coal as key to ensuring energy
security. A bizarre paradox has developed: by confusing energy security with
conventional fuels – confounding ends and means – the latter group’s aims are
diametrically opposed to that of the former. There is only one solution that
meets both climate protection and energy security objectives: the switch to
renewable energies – completely, worldwide and within the shortest timeframe
possible.
The paramount need to replace mineral oil, natural gas, coal and uranium
with renewable resources is blatant, and yet many oil corporations and
research institutions still maintain that no supply shortages will occur in the
coming decades, pinning their hopes on offshore, deep-water, Arctic and non-
conventional oil sources.
However, scientific studies, such as those from the Energy Watch Group
(EWG) paint a worrying picture. Current studies conclude that global oil
extraction passed its peak in 2006, when taking into account all estimated
remaining production capacity.
In the coming years, oil extraction will decline by around 3 per cent
annually. This will mean that in 2030 only around 50 per cent of today’s level
of 84 million barrels per day (mb/d) will be produced. The IEA in Paris is no
longer capable of producing accurate oil forecasts. It claims in its World
Energy Outlook (WEO) 2008 that oil extraction could increase by nearly 30
per cent by 2030.
Figure 3.1 Oil production: World summary

Source: LBST/ Energy Watch Group
Note: Mb/d = million barrels per day
Figure 3.2 World oil prices and IEA price forecasts

Source: IEA
Note: bbl = billion barrels
PROVIDING CLIMATE PROTECTION AND ENERGY SECURITY 59
The IEA’s longstanding inability to estimate the world’s resources is

accurately portrayed in its oil price forecasts. Its forecasts had to be corrected
downward for many years. For example, as recently as its World Energy
Outlook of 2004, the IEA predicted a long-term oil price of under $30 per
barrel in 2008. Yet by the middle of 2008 the oil price had approached $140.
And still, most governments and industries rely on these incorrect forecasts.
The rapid drop in oil price in the second part of 2008 resulted from the world
economic crisis, itself triggered by a high oil price and the corollary, so-called
financial crisis. But the oil price is bound to soon rise again, inexorably so,
because of declining world oil production capacity.
Until very recently the IEA was not able to accurately assess the global
fossil fuel resource condition. Precious time has been lost, in part because a
widely trusted voice has refused to acknowledge that fossil fuels and nuclear
power will not be able to meet the world’s energy demand in the coming years.
Those who rely on such announcements and continue to refuse to invest
heavily in renewables and energy savings will contribute to a deeper global
economic crisis than experienced today.
Just as the global oil supply is beginning to evaporate, so it is inevitable
that the natural gas supply will soon follow suit. Natural gas is a very limited
resource that cannot replace oil-based energy production. Coal-based energy
production, as the most environmentally hazardous, should be abandoned as
quickly as possible.
Figure 3.3 Projected coal production capacity in the coming years

Source: LBST/Energy Watch Group
Note: mtoe = million ton oil equivalent
The common assumption that coal will be readily available for the next
200 years is false. The EWG has verified that within the next few decades there
will already be shortfalls in coal supply. Often the point is raised that coal
cannot be affordably replaced by some emerging economies such as China, or
that the world’s largest coal exporters, such as Australia, have a legitimate
interest in its continuing use of coal. The dream of carbon-free coal-fired
power plants is not only held up by many proponents with a serious face, but
increasingly pursued at a well-funded scale in the form of various carbon
capture and storage (CCS) technologies. In Germany, a country that supports
CCS with high investments from public research funds, an extensive study of
its potential was published in March 2008 by the independent scientific
consultancy office of the German Bundestag (TAB). The message is clear: CCS
raises many scientific questions but no real answers; to date, there are no
plants operating and all experiments appear to have failed. Also, electricity
production with CCS requires about 30 per cent more coal. Given growing
resource scarcity and inexorably rising pressures on world market prices, coal-
fired power plants with CCS do not stand a chance against renewable energies,
unless they are heavily subsidized. CCS is not likely to be practically available
before 2020. By then its chances will look even worse than today.
The coal price has risen rapidly recently and demonstrates the arrival of an
age in which scarcities become the norm, rather than the exception.
Figure 3.4 Coal prices

Source: Verein Deutsche Kohleimporteure e.V
Note: refers to MCIS steam coal marker price; first price calculated each month
Finally, uranium is the most limited conventional power resource of all. It

is irrational and inappropriate to pursue nuclear power as a path forward,
however strenuously pursued by some industry lobbies today. EWG shows that
shortages in the supply of uranium required across the world’s 439 reactors
can be expected in the next few years, even though nuclear power supplies only
2.2 per cent of the world’s energy consumption.
Figure 3.5 Uranium demand and possible supply from known resources
Source: LBST/Energy Watch Group
Note: IR* = inferred resources; kt = kiloton
South Africa provides an example of a failed power policy based on nuclear

and coal energy. In 2007, a national emergency was declared because of power
blackouts due to worldwide coal production and delivery shortages, with
nuclear capacity being rigid and expensive and unable to compensate for the
rising bottlenecks. Wisely, South Africa has since decided against building a
new nuclear generator.
China closed a number of coal-fired power plants in summer 2008 due to
coal shortage. In contrast, wind energy has quickly developed, and by the end
of 2008, there were 67 wind turbine manufacturers in China
(www.sonnenseite.com/index.php?pageID=80&article:oid=a11581&template
=article_detail.html ) China moves increasingly towards renewable energies.
Today we are already witnessing the first climatic disasters as a
consequence of a rise in global temperatures approaching only 0.8°C – and
some are still proposing to actually work toward ‘limiting’ the rise to 2°C. This
position is incomprehensible, even if a reduction of emissions were to be

actually possible, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere are already exceeding stable levels. Any further emissions will
bring about an additional increase in the Earth’s temperature. The use of oil,
gas and coal contributes around 80 per cent of all CO2 to the atmosphere.
Thus the genuine prevention of climate change demands the end to their use.
Saving energy is a help but is not sufficient in itself. Fossil resources have to be
substituted by renewables.
Climate problems can be solved only by two strategies: first, stopping
greenhouse gas emissions (not just reducing emissions) by promoting zero
emission technologies and completely stopping the use of fossil fuel and
nuclear energies; and second, taking carbon out of the atmosphere, for
example, by large-scale forestation projects and storing carbon in the ground
as humus. The new hydrothermal carbon biochar technology (HCT) has huge
potential. Markus Antonietti from Potsdam’s Max Planck Institute in Germany
hopes that this technology could reduce the worlds CO2 concentration from
today’s 387ppm to 350ppm within some decades. HTC derives energy from
plants and removes carbon from the atmosphere and stores it in the soil.
Biochar also helps restore degraded soil into fertile land.
Figure 3.6 FiT under the Renewable Energy Sources Act versus emissions trading
Source: www.energie-verstehen.de/Energieportal/Navigation/energiemix,did=249684.html; Zugriff 27.11.08,
BMU-Publikation ‘Erneuerbare Energien in Zahlen: nationale und internationale Entwicklung’, KI III 1, Stand Juni
2008; Antwort der Bundesregierung auf schriftliche Frage zu Emissionshandel und CO2-Einsparung vom
03.04.2008, Schlemmermeier, Schwintowski: ZNER Jg. 10/3/2006, Seite 195
Note: mt = millions of tons
A policy for climate protection and energy security can only be achieved
through a clear, consistent and uncompromising policy for renewable energy
resources. In particular, this means: FiT laws and tax exemption for
renewables; an end to subsidies for fossil and atomic energy; campaigns for
research, development and education in renewable energy resources; and an
end to legal resistance during the approval process.
My doubts concerning emissions trading are growing. In Germany it has
not been very successful so far. While laws for renewable energies have saved
more than 120 million tons of CO2 of annual production, with an added cost
of only €4 billion, emissions trading has contributed only 9 million tons. But
emissions trading generated €5–10 billion of unjustified additional profit for
conventional energy companies.
Generally speaking, renewable energies bring only advantages and no
burdens. They create jobs due to economic development and reduce prices for
energy by creating independence from rising fossil resource prices. They bring
a secure energy supply and cancel out the motivation for wars over oil.
But can we really afford to abandon the use of crude oil, natural gas, coal
and uranium? There is a clear answer to this question. Precisely because the
global economy is so profoundly dependent on fossil resources, it must develop
another resource base very quickly. Otherwise, the increasing depletion of oil
resources, the drastic rise in oil prices and the simultaneous escalation of the
global environmental crisis will precipitate an unprecedented worldwide
economic crisis. The current crisis is in part a result of high oil prices in the
summer of 2008.
It is possible to make a fast total switch away from crude oil, natural gas,
coal and uranium. The natural supply of renewable sources of energy – solar,
wind, hydroelectric and geothermal power, bioenergy and ocean energies –
Figure 3.7 The supply of renewable energy

Source: German Solar Power Research Association
offers many thousand times’ the world’s entire annual energy requirement.
Enough solar radiation, in particular, reaches the Earth to meet today world’s
energy demand 15,000 times over (www.fv-sonnenenergie.de/fileadmin/
bildarchiv/grafiken_und_charts/Erlaeuterung_zu_Grafik_EE-Potenziale.pdf).
Figure 3.8 Concentrating solar power potential versus electricity demand

Source: NASA
Note: 1 per cent (•) of the Sahara’s surface is enough to meet the world’s entire electricity
demand using CSP technologies
It is possible to achieve the goal of 100 per cent renewables worldwide.

Studies have long shown that entire regions could meet their own energy
demand with self-produced energy from renewable energy sources. If we heed
the principles laid out in the Energy Rich Japan study by ISUSI
(www.energyrichjapan.info/pdf/ERJ_fullreport.pdf), we can come to produce
our electricity, heating, cooling and transport fuels from renewable energy
sources within a few decades. Active political support and policy frameworks
are crucial to build further development. The expansion is still restricted to far
too few nations. Successful and efficient laws for renewables are urgently
needed in all countries.
In the electricity sector, the German and Spanish Renewable Energy
Sources Acts are among the most important and most successful laws in the
world for promoting renewable energies. The growth rates achieved by
Germany, Spain and other countries are very high, and there has been rapid
industrialization of renewables, especially of wind energy and photovoltaics.
In 2000, the members of the German parliament set a target in the
Renewable Energy Sources Act for 12.5 per cent of electricity to come from
renewable sources by 2010. We were told that this target was unrealistic and
unachievable. And yet by the end of 2008 a 16 per cent share had already been
achieved. This shows that renewables can grow much faster than is often
assumed. What is crucial is the political framework, such as FiT. Worldwide,

renewable electricity is increasing at such a rate that worldwide energy demand
could be met by renewables within a few decades.
Figure 3.9 Share of renewables in gross electricity consumption in Germany

Note: right side of graph shows the target set by government in 2000 for 2010
Figure 3.10 Renewable energies as an engine for job creation in Germany

Source: www.bee-ev.de/uploads/HG_Energieluecke_080423.pdf
Note: job numbers in thousands for 2007 with the final bar (500) being a prediction for 2020
Evidence for the development of renewable energies is provided by the

rapid increase of jobs in this industrial sector over the last few years. In 1998,
only 30,000 persons were employed in the renewable energies industry in
Germany, just as many as in the nuclear industry. By the end of 2007, the
number of persons working in the renewable energies sector had increased to
250,000. Experts expect that around 500,000 renewable industry jobs will be
newly created by 2020 in Germany.
The most attractive policy framework is created by FiTs, which have
proved to be remarkably effective in the promotion of renewable energy in
Germany and Spain. A look at laws in other countries reveals that the German
FiT law is the most successful instrument of all.
Figure 3.11 Wind power capacity in Germany, UK and Australia

Source: BSW, EPIA, ISES
Note: kWh = kilowatt hour
The UK failed to reach Germany’s level of installed wind capacity, despite the
fact that it is windier in the UK than in Germany (true even when discounting
the difference in the size and populations of these two nations). In addition, the
cost of a kWh of electricity from wind power in the UK, at $0.13, is almost
twice as high as in Germany.
A comparison of the rates of growth in photovoltaics in Germany and
Japan also provides persuasive evidence that FiTs represent a more successful
industrial policy than the state subsidies or quotas and certificate laws that are
used in Japan. The initial successes of the photovoltaics industry in Japan have
been far surpassed by Germany since the Renewable Energy Sources Act was
passed.
Figure 3.12 Photovoltaics capacity in Germany, Australia and Japan
There will be further great technological development in all sectors: wind

power, solar energy, geothermal energy and especially marine energy. The
energetic use of oceans is still to be made accessible. Many countries currently
locked into a fossil fuel trap could rapidly become market leaders for wave,
stream and tidal energy in the context of sound FiT laws. Australia is a good
example.
A successful FiT law has components that include privileged grid access,
entitling investors to connect and feed into the grid. The tariff must be paid for
over an extended period of at least 20 years. This provides the necessary
security for investment. The feed-in tariff must also be high enough for
investment to be profitable. The cost of the FiT should be reflected in the
electricity price, and there should be no cap of the total amount of power
generated. Finally, there should be a guaranteed feed-in period and no
obstacles should be erected in the form of approval procedures.
The introduction of the Renewable Energy Law in Germany continues to
be controversial. Yet counterarguments of any substance have been lacking.
The initially high cost of renewables is bound to fall in the coming years,
allowing them to be carried in the economy of scale. Similarly, the law does not
concern subsidies because tax funds are not at all involved. The entire
financing of the Renewable Energy Law is through private capital, without
public funds. The state only specifies the framework for how investments in
renewables are able to become economically profitable. The market alone
covers the remainder.
The introduction cost of renewables is also minimal. The additional cost

for a typical household in Germany would be less than €3 per month.
Figure 3.13 Costs avoided due to renewable energy

Source: BEE
All in all the performance of the national economy in Germany has been
improved by renewable energies. While renewables accounted for €3.5 billion
in additional costs per year, over €15 billion could be saved due to reduced
imports of fossil fuels, avoided external environmental damage and reduced
costs for emission certificates.
The most significant advantages of FiTs for renewable energy resources,
especially for wind, biogas, photovoltaic, hydro and geothermal, support their
worldwide introduction. Although the advantages of the FiT for renewables
are well-known, there is still much resistance. The conventional fossil and
atomic energy companies practise widespread lobbying for their own interests
and often against renewables.
The Renewable Energy Act was introduced in Germany by the Green Party
and Social Democrats in 2000, against the votes of the Conservatives. But now
the conservatives in the German parliament accept the FiTs for electricity from
renewable energies and even consider them to be indispensable. Until recently,
this situation was unimaginable: during the national election campaign in
2005, the Conservatives demanded the abolition of FiTs, but the extremely
successful development of electricity production from renewable energies has
come to be one of the driving forces behind recent economic growth in
Germany.
The heating and cooling sector is also very important for renewables. As
far as heat supply is concerned, there is no development of renewable energies
comparable to the electricity sector in Germany. For years, the development
rate has been stagnating because a renewable heat act is still missing in
Germany. The parliamentary group of the Green Party has made proposals for
the framework of an effective heat energy act. The recommendations of the
European Commission in January 2008 are suitable for a rapid development
of renewable heat in the European Union. The proposal from Greens and the
EU-Commission is to make renewable investment in heating and cooling
obligatory by law, in both new and refurbished buildings. A change towards
renewables in the transport sector is also important and indeed possible. There
are two important dimensions to this shift: improved biofuels and electric
engines powered by green electricity.
Biofuels are often erroneously blamed for rising food prices, but such rises
are caused mainly by increasing oil price, bad harvests caused by climate
change and the huge meat consumption. Land use for meat production is five
to ten times as intensive as land use for plant-based nutrition. Still, the
sustainable cultivation of biofuels is necessary. Disregarding social and
ecological farming standards can indeed aggravate food supply problems.
Intensive land use often results in the degradation of soil. Organic farming and
biochar, however, improve soil fertility and support climate protection. Mixed
cropping and agroforestry are examples of ecological agriculture with ample
harvests.
The development of chemical products based on renewable resources is
also very important for climate protection. Bioplastics solve many difficulties
such as resource scarcity, climate change and waste problems. However,
genetic engineering is no solution because it creates further ecological and
social challenges. Genetic engineering is simply not necessary either for
nutrition and biofuels or for bioplastics.
I have been the proud owner of a solar car for many years. The amount of
electricity it consumes is small and can be produced by photovoltaic solar
parks. I only need 10 square meters of photovoltaics on the roof of my home
to enable my car to run 10,000 kilometres per year. What is necessary is to
convert automobiles to emission-free drive systems powered by electricity from
renewable energy sources. The most important strategy to introduce
renewables into the transport sector is to convert the focus of car producers
from combustion machines to electricity cars, buses, cycles and others. But
they must run only with renewable electricity.
Education and the transfer of knowledge are essential factors to meet the
challenge of transforming our energy system. The successful launch of IRENA
will greatly aid in this important task.
Chapter Four
100% is Possible Now
Harry Lehmann and Stefan Peter
Today’s world economy does not use the Earth’s resources in a sustainable way.
Humanity is rapidly coming closer to the exhaustion of conventional and
nuclear finite energy reserves. Now it is widely accepted that the mid-depletion
point of oil reserves has already been passed in non-OPEC countries, and will
be passed in the OPEC countries within the next decades (according to EWG
(2008a), peak oil, i.e. global maximum oil production capacity, was passed in
2006. Additionally EWG studies on global coal and uranium resources showed
that these will also become scarce in the near future. Last but not least, the
environment faces increasing threats, ranging from the well-known problem of
human-caused climate change to the erosion of fertile soil, water pollution and
the various effects of manmade toxins and nuclear waste.
A sustainable energy supply has to be fully based (100 per cent) on renew-
able energies and must use available resources most efficiently. Today, at the
advent of the industrial solar age, there are eight basic technologies in the
market (biomass, hydropower, wind energy, solar thermal collectors,
photovoltaic systems, centralized solar thermal power plants, solar archi-
tecture and geothermal energy) and a number of experimental technologies are
raring to go. These technologies tap renewable energy resources in a magnitude
that exceeds current global energy consumption by many times, and can
provide energy for millions of years.
A solar energy system to supply energy reliably throughout the year
includes the consistent use of local renewable energy sources wherever
possible. A second basic requirement of such a fully renewable energy supply
structure is the intelligent interchange of energy between regions. This
interchange can be managed by the power grid, gas networks (using solar-
generated hydrogen) or by transporting biomass. National or international
networks can be used for system balancing, for example, to transport regional
surpluses to regions with deficits or to storage facilities. In this chapter, we
focus on regions where an electrical infrastructure already has been installed,
but renewable energy technologies are as well able to supply the needed energy
down to the size of a single house or a small village.
Figure 4.1 The structure of a renewable energy system

Source: ERJ (2003)
Different renewable energy technologies as well as a diversified regional

distribution, combining several regions with varying strengths and weaknesses,
will mutually replenish a functioning energy supply system throughout the
year. This approach helps balance the fluctuations in energy provision that can
occur with some renewable energy technologies (such as wind and
photovoltaic). If, for example, the wind stops blowing in one region, power
can directly be supplied by surpluses in other regions or, if this does not suffice,
other regional sources, such as local biomass power plants, or even plants in
other regions can deliver the required power.
Such an energy supply structure requires much more intelligent
management than today’s energy supply. This starts with regulating the system,
which includes the planning of energy production with the help of weather
forecasts, and ends with managed consumers, adapting their energy needs to
the availability of electric power. Cogeneration units (motor-driven
cogeneration units of all sizes are already available on the market, fuel cells or
renewable powered gas turbines will follow in the coming years) deliver
heating/cooling and power by burning solar hydrogen, biogas or biomass and
100% IS POSSIBLE NOW 73
are part of a new kind of intelligent consumption/production. Consumers can

then provide themselves with heating and electricity, and even more, these
‘personal power plants’ can also deliver power to the grid if, for example, a
central control authority needs to allocate a peak load or they can create a
virtual power plant by connecting several personal power plants with
windmills, photovoltaic and other sources, delivering electricity on demand.
Management and storage of electrical surpluses (whether in the form of
electricity, fuel (hydrogen), heat or cold) is viable for a 100 per cent renewable
energy supply. And even parking electric cars can contribute to system stability
and balancing, as they then offer both, storage and power on demand.
Foresighted management can guarantee a stable energy supply for
consumers by combining those technologies with variable or seasonal energy
production and those whose energy sources are available at any time in an
(inter)national exchange structure. Modern computers and the communication
technologies that gave rise to the internet offer this possibility today.
Systems and approaches as described above are often investigated in
scenarios. Scenarios are a look ahead, from the present into the future, and
allow us to study future development under specific surrounding conditions.
Many scenarios and studies dealing with the future of energy supply have been
prepared and published in recent decades (see Le Groupe de Bellevue, 1978,
Nakicenovic and Messner, 1982; and www.solarmissionpossible.info).
Europe
One study investigating the possibility of such an energy system is the ‘Long-
Term Integration of Renewable Energies into the European Energy System’
(LTI). The LTI project will work on ‘extreme’ scenarios with very different but
ambitious economic, social and ecological goals over the next decades (LTI,
1998).
Based on two simplified archetypes of behaviour – exhibited by those who
are motivated to protect the environment (‘sustainable’ scenario) and those
who are interested in consuming (‘fair market scenario’) – two scenarios were
developed that result in an 80 per cent reduction of CO2 by 2050. Because of
the extremely varying assumptions, the examined scenarios represent two
extremes of possible development and are not meant as a prognosis for the
future. Rather they were designed to learn as much as possible about supplying
solar energy to Europe. The reality will be a mixture of different trends and
will incorporate aspects of both scenarios. A third optimized version of the
supply system is shown in the ‘opti’ scenario – a 100 per cent renewable energy
scenario (Lehmann, 1998). This last scenario is much better in terms of
availability of electricity over the year.
The LTI project shows that the European energy system can be changed
until 2050 to use energy in a sustainable way. There are no fundamental
technical or financial hurdles that inhibit an exclusively solar/renewable energy
supply system for Europe.
Figure 4.2 Share of energy sources providing energy for Europe in 2050 in three different
scenarios
Source: LTI (1998)
Note: Energy efficiency and savings have lowered demand by 38–62 per cent. Geothermal energy, imported
solar-generated hydrogen and others are not included in the sustainable and fair market scenarios and are
together in the opti scenario under ‘other’
Germany
In February 2000, the German Bundestag constituted the Enquete Commission
on ‘Sustainable Energy Supply Against the Background of Globalisation and
Liberalisation’ (Enquete, 2002). The Commission had the mandate to provide
scientific evidence as a basis for the German Bundestag’s future decision-
making in the field of energy policy. The consensus view of the Commission
was that Germany’s energy supply system was not sustainable at that time. In
order to assess the prospects of sustainable development up to the year 2050,
the Commission examined economic and technological capabilities as well as
options for practical and political action.
Based on 14 developed scenarios and the evaluation of additional studies,
the Commission’s conclusion was that it is technically feasible and econo-
mically possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent in a modern
industrialized country, even if nuclear energy is phased out, by shifting to a
sustainable energy system, based on renewable energy resources and efficient

energy technologies. The Commission’s work also outlined that it is possible to
cover the total energy demand by means of solar/renewable energy sources.
In the medium and long term, a restructured energy system will not be
much more expensive than the present one and will even create more jobs than
a conventional/fossil system does. Initially, higher investments will be needed
to push this development. In 2050 the additional costs compared with a
‘business as usual’ scenario amount to €15 per capita a month in the year
2050 (80 per cent reduction of climate gases).
Germany will take a lead in climate protection and supports a 30 per cent
reduction by the EU, with its own commitment of a 40 per cent reduction by 2020
compared to 1990 levels. To achieve this target, the German government has adopt-
ed an extensive set of measures (Integrated Energy and Climate Programme –
IECP). In a scenario developed by the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA),
the feasibility of achieving this target was demonstrated. The most important meas-
ures are increasing the efficiencies of energy use (for example, in the housing sec-
tor) and the introduction of renewable energy technologies.
Japan
Another study is the ‘Energy Rich Japan’ Report (ERJ, 2003), which provides
an analysis of Japan’s current energy demand across the industrial, residential,
commercial and transport sectors (using 1999 data) and shows how energy
demand can be reduced substantially in all four sectors by adopting most
energy efficient technologies. The study shows a possible halving of Japan’s
end-energy use from almost 15,200 petajoules (PJ) in 1999 to a level below
7500PJ.
To meet this new reduced demand, the report includes a renewable energy
supply model to supply electricity, heat and fuels. The ERJ Report produced
six renewable energy scenarios, all of them providing 100 per cent renewable
energy for Japan. The starting point is a basic model (Scenario One), which
provides more than 50 per cent of total energy needs from domestic sources of
renewable energy in Japan, including fuels for transport. Each subsequent
scenario provides variations or expansions on Scenario One, gradually reduc-
ing the reliance on imported energy, factoring in different population
projections and expected improvements in renewable generation capacity and
energy efficiencies, until by Scenarios Five and Six, energy imports are not
required any more.
To ensure that renewable technologies get used to their best advantage and
to guarantee supply security, the report includes a computer simulation of the
Japanese supply system with a temporal resolution of a quarter hour. The
system uses hourly resolved and detailed meteorological data from 153 sites
around Japan, which provide information on renewable sources of wind, solar
radiation and temperature to reflect the changing weather conditions for
power calculation.
Figure 4.3a Structure of supply (electricity, heat and fuels) for the six scenarios
Source: ERJ (2003)
Figure 4.3b Gross energy production from different technologies in the six scenarios
Source: ERJ (2003)
The challenge in designing a reliable, fully renewable energy system was to

find a combination of technologies where the pros of some types balance out
the cons of the others. Reserve capacities are necessary as a backup for
fluctuating sources, especially in the electrical system, but they can be mini-
mized by designing a combination of renewable technologies where
fluctuations in production match a varying demand as much as possible.
Fluctuating sources, such as wind and solar, were combined with adjustable
‘supply on demand’ sources such as geothermal plants and hydropower to
guarantee a reliable supply of energy throughout the year from domestic
Japanese energy sources, regardless of seasonal or daily variations. Surpluses
in the electrical supply system were stored as hydrogen (for later use in various
types of thermal plants) or in pumped water storage systems, both giving the
opportunity to deliver energy on demand at times when fluctuating sources do
not produce enough. Thus the scenarios showed that a complete energy supply
of Japan from renewable sources is possible with a domestic share of up to 100
per cent.
Figure 4.4 Simulation dynamics for four exemplary weeks, showing the contributions
of all sources and energy demand
Source: ERJ (2003)
Catalonia
The objective of initiating the Catalonia study (SolCat, 2007) was to show Cat-
alonia’s ability to supply its own need for energy from renewable sources and,
thus, to provide a fact-based vision of a future energy supply as an alternative
to the present fossil/nuclear system. The study is focused on Catalonia’s electric
energy demand – and how it can be reduced – and the design of a reliable re-
newable electricity supply system.
The scenarios highlight a development towards halving electricity intensity
in the three most important sectors of electricity consumption until 2050,
which, of course, is a great challenge, but feasible from a technological point
of view.
The future development of generating capacities for all renewable tech-
nologies was calculated using so-called ‘logistic growth functions’, showing the
typical s-curved shape for growth with saturation effects in the later stage of
development. This reflects the underlying assumption that growth cannot be
unlimited if any of the resources growth depends on is limited. This approach
also required incorporating assumptions regarding the future development of
technology specific investment costs. While wind energy, geothermal power
plants, biomass plants and solar thermal power plants were expected to show
half of today’s specific investment costs by 2050, the specific costs of photo-
voltaics were expected to fall to one third of today’s costs; hydropower was
assumed to remain on current cost levels.
The ‘Fast Exit Scenario’ shows an increase of renewable generating
capacities from less than 200MW in 2006 to about 6400MW in 2030 and
further to almost 12,000MW in 2050. Wind energy contributes most to the
total renewable capacity – almost three fourths (2030) respectively two thirds
(2050) of the total renewable capacity consists of wind energy. Photovoltaic
shows a dynamic extension too, resulting in an 11 per cent share of total
renewable capacity in 2030 and 23 per cent in 2050. The shares of biomass,
geothermal, solar thermal plants and additional hydropower are substantially
lower if compared to wind energy or photovoltaic.
Validation of supply security was based on dynamic computer simulation
of electricity supply for four representative weeks for all the four seasons of the
year. The simulation showed no indication of undersupply at any time.
The two scenarios of the Catalonia study show the feasibility to achieve a
fully renewable electricity supply, one until 2035 (Fast Exit Scenario), the other
until 2045 (Climate Protection Scenario). The realization of these goals is not
a matter of potential, but it is a matter of setting and pursuing ambitious
targets, encouraging policy and people and – of course – the financial
investments Catalonia and its people are willing to take. The scenarios show
that the financial aspect is not as big an obstacle as one might expect. With an
annual investment into renewable capacities peaking at €104 (at 2006 value)
per inhabitant in the ‘Fast Exit Scenario’ (2050) and €85/capita in the ‘Climate
Protection Scenario’.
Figure 4.5 Areas required to install sufficient renewable energy generating capacity to
supply 100 per cent of electricity demand in Catalonia (right) and development of
renewable electricity generating capacities in the ‘Fast Exit Scenario’ (left)
Source: SolCat (2007)
Note: On the right, wind energy, the renewable energy technology with most installed capacity, would require
about four times the area of Catalonia’s capital Barcelona. PV and CPS both require about the same area for
installation, which is about one fifth of the capital’s area for each of these technologies
Compared to the Catalonian gross domestic product (GDP) (€181,029 million

in 2005), the annual costs of the scenarios are 0.2 per cent of GDP for the
‘Climate Protection Scenario’ and 0.3 per cent for the ‘Fast Exit Scenario’ on
average.
Renewable Energies World Outlook 2030

The Renewable Energies Outlook 2030 scenarios (EWG, 2008b) differ from
the above described scenarios, as they do not outline a 100 per cent renewable
supply. Rather the 2030 scenarios deal with the financial-driven global
extension of renewable capacities up to 2030. Growth was calculated with
regard to global renewable potentials (using the logistic growth approach too)
and reduction of specific costs due to the massive extension of production
capacities. Two scenarios, a ‘low variant’ and a ‘high variant’, assume different
investment figures, defined as ‘investment paths’ with successive increasing
annual investments towards 2030.
Presuming strong political support and a barrier-free market entrance, the
dominating stimulus for extending the generation capacities of renewable
technologies is the amount of money invested. One basic assumption within
the Renewable Energies Outlook scenarios was a growing ‘willingness to pay’
for clean, secure and sustainable energy supply, starting with a low amount in
Figure 4.6a Electricity demand and supply in spring

Note: Production peaks occur around midday, driven by good solar radiation and wind conditions. At no time
does demand exceeds production. Due to the good performance of solar and wind energy, fluctuating suppliers
contribute most to electricity supply, with only minor contributions from adjustable suppliers (hydropower,
geothermal and biomass).
Figure 4.6b Electricity demand and supply in autumn (November)

Note: Electricity demand is always met, with peaks of energy surplus showing, of a few hours per week.
Looking at the contributions of the single technologies (third graph) shows that solar radiation has considerably
dropped since summer and that wind performance is comparably weak during the simulated week, with almost
no wind power on days two and three and peak production at about 1000MW on days six and seven.
Consequently hydropower, geothermal and biomass have to make great contributions to satisfy electricity
demand.
Figure 4.7 Development of renewable energy production and consumption:

Development of annual investments per capita
2010, which then successively increases towards 2030. Finally, specific target
levels for annual investments per inhabitant (capita) get reached by the year
2030. The targeted amounts differ for the various regions of the world (see
Table 4.1). In global average, €124 are spent in 2030 per capita in the ‘high
variant’. In the ‘low variant’ the target for 2030 is half that amount (€62 per
capita and year).
Absolute investments in 2030 are approximately €510 billion in the ‘low
variant scenario’ and about €1021 billion in the ‘high variant’. The biggest
single investor in both scenarios is China, followed by South Asia – both
regions having a high percentage of the world population – and OECD
Europe, which is less populated but shows considerably higher spending per
inhabitant in 2030. OECD Pacific has the lowest investment figure, behind
Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
To provide a better feeling for what such investment figures really mean
with regard to today’s real world, Figure 4.9 compares the renewable invest-
ments of the Renewable Energies Outlook 2030 study to global military
expenditures in 2005. Only the ‘high variant’ shows renewable per capita
investments coming close to the military expenditures of 2005. Another
illustrative comparison is the amount of money spent by each German in 2005
on culture-related activities – which is of the magnitude of €100 annually.
Table 4.1 Targets for annual investments into renewable generating capacities in 2030 in
the Renewable Energies Outlook 2030 ‘low variant’ and ‘high variant’ scenarios
Investment per capita per year Total investment budgets in
in 2030 (€2006/capita/year) 2030 (€2006 billions)
Region Low variant High variant Low variant High variant
OECD Europe 111 223 60 121
OECD North America 110 220 59 118
OECD Pacific 112 224 22 44
Transition economies 91 180 31 60
China 102 204 149 299
East Asia 41 81 33 66
South Asia 35 71 73 147
Latin America 46 91 26 52
Africa 20 41 30 59
Middle East 101 202 28 55
Global scale
Source: EWG (2008b)
Figure 4.8 Final electricity and heat demand and renewable shares until 2030 in the
‘high variant’ scenario
Source: EWG (2008b); IEA (2007)
Figure 4.9 Development of investments in the Renewable Energy Outlook 2030

scenarios and military expenditures as of 2005
Source: EWG (2008b)
The development that could be initiated by investments as assumed in the ‘high

variant’ is impressive: the OECD region will be able to cover more than 54 per
cent of its electricity and more than 13 per cent of its heat requirements from
renewables in 2030, totalling to a final energy share of 27 per cent (‘low
variant’: almost 17 per cent). In the non-OECD region, the share of renewables
rises to 30 per cent in the ‘high variant’ (‘low variant’: 18 per cent). Increases
due to renewables account for almost 68 per cent with regard to electricity,
while renewable heat contributes about 17 per cent of final heat demand (‘low
variant’: 36 per cent of electricity and 11 per cent of heat).
Drawing a conclusion from the Renewable Energies Outlook 2030 study,
it must be stated that the widespread belief that to change energy supply to
renewable resources would be an unfeasible economic burden is wrong.
Conclusion
Future energy needs can be fully supplied by renewable energies. The scenarios
described here have never been disproved but were considered utopian, although
they relied on the current status quo of the technologies and projected the in-
troduction of these renewable energies on to total energy demands.
The analysis of scenarios that consistently go as far as a 100 per cent
supply from renewable energy shows the following:
• A reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent worldwide and by
80 per cent in industrialized countries by 2050 (compared to 1990 levels)
is technically and economically feasible from today’s perspective. The path
towards a full renewables-based and efficient energy system is a realistic

future option and not a dead end. There is no need for nuclear power,
neither fission nor fusion.
• The supply and demand systems described in the scenarios offer possible
target ranges for restructuring the energy sector. Any restructuring towards
renewable energies will not need to be limited to the ideas described in
those reports. Other systems and other combinations of technologies are
also possible.
• Since supply security in the electricity sector is crucial – production and
consumption must match at all times – some of the energy systems were
reproduced in computer-based simulations. The simulations showed that a
system totally based on solar energy, with suitable design and control,
works reliably all year round.
• Although investments will initially be necessary to stimulate development
towards a sustainable energy system, the restructured system will not result
in higher costs than the present system in the medium and long term. All
these scenarios are economically feasible.
Analysing older scenarios, it is obvious that the market introduction and

expansion of renewables have beaten even the expectations of optimistic
scientists in the regions that implemented suitable support mechanisms. ‘First-
mover’ countries (such as Germany) are in a highly favourable win–win
situation, due to the creation of jobs and export opportunities. In Germany
250,000 new ‘clean tech’ jobs have been created in recent decades in the field
of renewable energy technologies. In nine years, Germany more than tripled
the amount of renewables in the electricity market and today renewables cover
15 per cent of supply. This should make us confident that these scenarios can
in fact be implemented.
Today’s society must take action to implement a renewable strategy. The
most important step is to start right now, since every day that passes by
without enforcing a renewable energy strategy only increases and complicates
the problem because energy consumption is increasing, money is still being
invested in fossil/nuclear systems and finding ways to solve the problem of
climate change merely gets postponed.
References
Enquete (2002) Sustainable Energy Supply Against the Background of Globalisation
and Liberalisation, Enquete Commission, Deutscher Bundestag,
www.bundestag.de/gremien/ener/index.html
ERJ (Energy Rich Japan) (2003) Energy Rich Japan – A Vision for the Future,
www.energyrichjapan.info
EWG (Energy Watch Group) (2008a) Crude Oil: The Supply Outlook, Energy Watch
Group, www.energywatchgroup.org
EWG (2008b) Renewable Energy Outlook 2030 – Energy Watch Group Global
Renewable Energy Scenarios,
www.energywatchgroup.org/Studien.24+M5d637b1e38d.0.html
IEA (International Energy Agency) (2007), World Energy Outlook 2007, IEA,
www.worldenergyoutlook.org/
Le Groupe de Bellevue, ALTER (1978) A Study of a Long-Term Energy Future for
France Based on 100% Renewable Energies, reprinted in The Yearbook of
Renewable Energies 1995 (1995), James and James, London and Le Groupe de
Bellevue, Paris
LTI (1998) Long-Term Integration of Renewable Energy Sources into the European
Energy System, Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg
Nakicenovic, N. and Messner, S. (1982) Solar Energy Futures in a Western European
Context, WP-82-126a and WP-82-126b, International Institute for Applied Systems
Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria
SolCat (2007) Solar Catalonia: A Pathway to a 100% Renewable Energy System for
Catalonia, Fundació Terra, iSuSI, Ecoserveis, www.isusi.de/publications.html
(English) or www.ecoserveis.net/ (Spanish/Catalan)
Chapter Five
Paths to a Fossil CO2-free
Munich
A city such as Munich can cut its CO2 emissions by up to 90 per cent by mid-
century by developing highly efficient building and mobility structures and
adapted renewable and low carbon infrastructures. This is asserted by a recent
study of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate Energy and Environment. Com-
missioned by Siemens it examined how a modern metropolis of 1.3 million
inhabitants, such as Munich, third largest and one of the most dynamic
German cities, can drastically reduce the amount of CO2 it emits.
Munich 2058: Blueprint for cities leading the way

to sustainable energy
Cities must lead the way to a climate friendly and sustainable energy future.
Today, cities are home to 50 per cent of the world’s population – a figure that
is expected to climb to 60 per cent by 2025. The main drivers of their vibrant
urban metabolisms, however, are fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas.
Cities directly and indirectly account for a majority of the global energy use
and the respective greenhouse gas emissions.
But cities are not only the main driver of climate change. They will also
bear the effects of global warming. In Munich, it is expected that among other
effects the number of extremely hot days and tropical nights will significantly
increase by the end of the century, imposing climatic conditions on the city that
have not been known at least for several centuries here at the foot of the Alps.
Metropolitan areas represent both a high concentration of causes and
consequences of climate change and a high capacity for action. High economic
capacity, concentration of scientific and technological as well as economic
know-how and decision-making competencies puts them into the pole position
to develop the way to more climate-friendly and decarbonized lifestyles and
economies. As one model of such a development, we have the city of Munich
(Siemens, Wuppertal Institut, 2009; Lechtenböhmer et al, 2009). While it has
survived almost 700 years, mainly based on regional renewable sources, the
last 150 years like everywhere in the industrialized world have seen an
increasing use of fossil energy. The resulting greenhouse gas emissions have
risen to a current level of more than 8 million tons of CO2 or 6.5 tons per
capita. In our study we analysed two scenarios of how the city could again
become almost fossil carbon free by its 900th anniversary in 2058.
Why cities should be almost carbon free by 2058

The Fourth Assessment Report by the IPCC (2007) has proved that climate
change is the largest threat to human society and natural ecosystems, and
preventing dangerous climate change is the foremost challenge for the world
community. Its results also show that the risks of climate change increase with
every degree of higher temperature increase over pre-industrial levels. Despite
the international debate on adequate climate targets, it can be concluded that
a reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions of 60 per cent or even more by
the middle of the century will be necessary to prevent the most dramatic
consequences of climate change (UN Foundation, 2007; Brundtland, 2007).
This would mean that industrialized countries should reduce their greenhouse
gas emissions by around 90 per cent and that global per capita greenhouse gas
emissions should be well below 2 tons per capita by that time.
Table 5.1 Long-term greenhouse gas mitigation targets by selected cities

City of City of City of Londonb) Munichb) New Toronto Zurichc)
Boston Melbourne Sydneya) York
City
Base year 1990 1996 1990 1990 1990 2005 1990 –
Base year emissions Mt CO2e 7 3.5 2.3 45.1 10.2 58.3 22 –
d)
Current emissions in Mt CO2e Nav. 3.8 3.6 44.3 9.8 58.3 23.4 1.4
tCO2e/cap Nav. 6.6 23.7 5.9 7.3 7.2 5.1 3.7
Target year 2050 2020 2050 2025 2030 2030 2050 2050
Reduction target 80% 100% 70% 60% 50% 30% 80% 70%
Target Emissions Mt CO2e 1.4 0.0 0.7 18.0 5.1 40.8 4.4 0.4
Baseline Emissions Mt CO2e Nav. 4.5 Nav. 51 8.0 89.2 Nav. Nav.
Note: a) local government area; b) Reduction target only for CO2; c) own calculations; d) Data for 2000 to 2006. Note that base years,
methodologies and scope of the targets differ between cities
Source: Lechtenböhmer et al.(2009); plaNYC A Greener, Greater New York; City of Boston Climate Action Plan; City of Sydney:
Environmental Management Plan; City of Melbourne: Zero Net Emissions by 2020; Toronto: Climate Change Clean Air and
Sustainable Energy Action Plan; Zurich: own calculations based on the Swiss Energy Research Concept
Many cities have already acknowledged the climate challenge and have
adopted significant greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Initiatives such
as ICLEI, the C40 Initiative or the Covenant of Mayors have been formed to
improve cooperation to foster municipal action (see www.iclei.org/;
www.c40cities.org/; www.eumayors.eu/). However, so far only a small number
of larger cities have set themselves far reaching targets, some of which could
ROADS TO A FOSSIL CO2-FREE MUNICH 89
comply with the ambitious climate targets of 90 per cent greenhouse gas
emissions reduction and more by the middle of the century, as can be seen from
the table.
Scenarios for Munich

Munich’s energy-related CO2 emissions today amount to about 8.2 million
tons, of which 46 per cent result from heating of residential, commercial and
industrial buildings, a fifth of which is currently supplied by combined heat
and power (CHP) via an extensive district heating grid. The rest is supplied
mainly by single heating systems fired with natural gas and heating oil.
Another 39 per cent of CO2 emissions result from electricity of the municipal
utility, which produces about 10 per cent more electricity than the city
consumes in the local CHP plants, in a number of decentralized renewable
units, in a share of a nuclear power plant and in some water power plants in
nearby Alps. However, others also supply electricity to customers in the city.
The rest of the CO2 emissions taken into account here stem from passenger
transport (12 per cent) and goods transport within the city borders (3 per
cent). The study does not include the emissions from airborne transport nor
freight transport outside the city borders or other emissions resulting from the
import of goods and services to the city.
Given this scope, our study describes a comprehensive vision for an almost
CO2-free Munich. It sketches two scenarios for 2058, of which here only the
more ambitious ‘Target Scenario’ is described. By using an all-embracing set of
strategies and technologies in all fields it achieves a 90 per cent reduction of
energy-related CO2 emissions to about 750 kilograms (kg) per capita by 2050.
This value probably meets the global aim to contain total greenhouse gas
emissions per capita below 2 tons of CO2 equivalent by 2050.
Seven key strategies for carbon freedom

The following key strategies have been proposed to reach the target of almost
no fossil CO2 by 2058:
• The main lever for fossil carbon free heat demand and supply, and also the
largest lever in general, is the thermal improvement of residential and other
buildings. By a rapid introduction of the currently most ambitious passive
house standard for all new buildings and also for every renovation of
existing buildings, energy use by this segment can be reduced by 80 per cent
by 2058. To achieve this, however, virtually all buildings should be
renovated over the next 50 years. This target is technically feasible but is a
major economic and social challenge. Implementing less ambitious
standards would mean that buildings with these standards will not become
fossil carbon free by 2058 and thus delay the achievement of the targets to
a point in time when they will be refurbished again. This fact has been
reflected in a paradigmatic decision by the city council of Frankfurt/Main
(Germany). The city decided that all new buildings owned by the city or by
housing companies controlled by the city (apart from some exemptions)
have to comply to the passive house standard and – if possible –
renovations should reach the same standard.
• The strategy, however, imposes an economic threat to the district heating
(DH) system by massively reducing the amount of heat demand per
building. Technologies for future central and decentralized DH systems
have yet to be further developed. However, the study assumes that this
problem will successfully be solved and CHP will be able to supply 60 per
cent of heat demand and a third of the electricity demand in the Target
Scenario.
• Additionally, renewable heat supply will be introduced by geothermal DH,
biomass-based decentralized CHP plants and solar thermal appliances.
Figure 5.1 Key strategies for carbon emission reduction in Munich, 2058: Target Scenario
Source: based on Siemens, Wuppertal Institute (2009) and Lechtenböhmer et al (2009)
• The first strategy to achieve fossil carbon free electricity is electricity

efficiency that could, by using mainly already existing highly efficient
appliances, reduce per capita residential and office electricity consumption
by almost 40 per cent.
• This will be flanked by additional renewable electricity, which will be partly
produced locally, in the CHP plants, by water power and by photovoltaics,
which could reach 400MW peak by 2058 by using about 40 per cent of the
existing potential space for the installation of modules. About 40 per cent
of the electricity in the Target Scenario will, however, be imported from
offshore wind and solar thermal power plants – a strategy that has been
already introduced by the municipal utility. About 40 per cent of the wind
capacity envisaged for 2058 will be on the grid in the German North Sea as
ROADS TO A FOSSIL CO2-FREE MUNICH 91
early as 2013, and a decision has been made to buy a share of a projected
solar thermal power plant in Southern Spain.
• The core strategy of the Target Scenario towards fossil carbon free
transport is to gradually change mobility patterns to slightly reduce average
transport distances and increase the share of public transport (within the
city, but also important on long-distance trips) (assuming public transport
is not coal-fired electricity), walking and biking.
• More efficient vehicles and a shift in urban transport towards electric
vehicles contribute to significant energy savings and indirectly to an
increased share of biofuels and renewable electricity in the transport fuel
mix. The Target Scenario assumes that about 80 per cent of motorized
inner-city individual mobility will be covered by electric vehicles, which will
be either specific small vehicles for short distances or plug-in hybrids. These
will run on shorter distances with electricity and outside the city with fuels.
The role of renewable energies

The scenario for Munich shows that a comprehensive package of measures and
technologies, which is mainly already available on the market or at least ‘in the
pipeline’ is available to bring cities on track to become virtually fossil carbon
free over the coming century and to cope with the targets set to slow down
climate change and to prevent its worst damages. As the seven key strategies
show, the first priority of the scenarios is to drastically increase energy
efficiency, i.e. make the most of the energy used by the urban metabolism by
highly efficient buildings, adapted supply systems and cascading (first for
electricity then for heat, or first for process heat then for DH) uses of energy.
By strict implementation of these principles, primary energy demand of the city
of Munich can be reduced by more than 70 per cent, despite a slightly growing
population. The remaining energy demand can be supplied by more than 60
per cent from a mix of local and regional as well as imported renewable
energies, more than half of it coming from renewable electricity and the rest
from renewable heat and biofuels. And, given the fact that the total amount of
renewable energy supply will reach only 5200kWh or about 450 litres of oil
equivalent per capita per year, we assume that this amount can be supplied in
a sustainable manner.
Conclusions
The question of whether human society will be able to cope with the challenge
of manmade climate change by developing fossil carbon free infrastructures
and economies will be answered in the cities. They are not only core to the
problem but also to the solution. For the southern German metropolis of
Munich, our study demonstrates that energy efficient and low carbon
technologies and infrastructures are already available and could be rolled out
for general use.
However, reshaping urban infrastructures comes at a high cost. Converting

all buildings in Munich to low energy passive buildings would need €13 billion
in additional investment at the current price level, or €200 per capita per year.
It is, however, an investment that will most probably prove to save more by
reducing energy imports than it costs.
This means investing now in the right strategy that will offer multiple
chances for the cities:
• Jobs and markets can be created through the investment in fossil carbon
free infrastructures.
• This investment is an effective hedge against future increasing prices and
fossil fuel supply risks.
• Defining a strategic target to develop a nearly fossil carbon free city can pro-
vide further first-mover advantages, ranging from the creation of a positive
image for the city to creating business opportunities in the emerging growth
market of sustainable urban (infra)structures.
The study shows that transforming a city into a virtually carbon-free urban
environment will be a significant challenge. To master it the aim of virtually
carbon-free cities has to become top priority for all stakeholders: decision-
makers, utilities, urban planners and, particularly, investors and residents.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dieter Seifried, Claus Barthel, Susanne Böhler, Rüdiger
Hofmann, Kora Kristof, Frank Merten, Frederic Rudolph, Clemens Schneider
and Dietmar Schüwer who are the co-authors of the study briefly reported
here. I also thank Stefan Denig and Daniel Müller from Siemens and their
colleagues who strongly supported the research for this study and contributed
valuable inputs, as well as Tim Schröder.
References
Brundtland, G. H. (2007) ‘Speech at the Gleneagles Dialogue’, 3rd Ministerial
Conference, Berlin, 10 September 2007, Bundesministerium für Umwelt,
Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit (BMU)
IPCC (2007) ‘Summary for policymakers’, in B. Metz, O. R. Davidson, P. R. Bosch, R.
Dave, and L. A. Meyer (eds) Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of
Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, NY
Lechtenböhmer, S., Seifried, D., Barthel, C., Böhler, S., Hofmann, R., Kristof, K.,
Merten, F., Rudolph, F., Schneider, C. and Schüwer, D. (2009) München 2058 –
Wege in eine CO2-freie Zukunft, Hintergrundbericht, Wuppertal, forthcoming
Siemens AG, Wuppertal Institute (2009) Sustainable Urban Infrastructure, Munich -
Roads Toward a Carbon-free Future, Munich (in press)
UN Foundation, Club de Madrid (2007) Framework for a Post-2012 Agreement on
Climate Change. A Proposal of Global Leadership for Climate Action, 10
September, Club de Madrid
Chapter Six
100% Renewable Champions:
International Case Studies
Anis Radzi
This chapter chronicles the trials and successes of 14 renewable energy projects
around the world, with a special focus on islands, regions and cities, in their
quest for 100 per cent self-sufficiency based exclusively on renewable energy
sources. While some are works-in-progress, others have achieved over and
beyond their original targets. Each project tells a story, a narrative illustrating
the human traits of inspiration, dedication, drive and initiative, as the
overriding means to achieve an ecological society and economy free from fossil
fuels. Collectively, the projects illustrate processes entailing more than mere
technics or money.
El Hierro, Canary Islands
Figure 6.1 Juniper Tree at El Sabinar, El Hierro, Canary Islands

Source: Eckhard Pecher
Basic facts
El Hierro is the smallest island of the Canary Islands, with a surface area of
276km2 and a population of 10,600 people. More than 60 per cent of the
territory is classed as nature reserve (Iris Europe, 2007). By 2010, the island
hopes to derive all of its energy from wind, water, solar and silage power.
Hence, becoming the first European island to cover all of its energy needs with
clean and renewable energies by opting for a development model based on
conserving the environment.
The first phase of El Hierro’s plan will involve a 9.9MW wind-hydro
scheme, whereby desalinated water will be pumped by windpower generated
by a 7.35MW wind farm to a reservoir created at 700 metres above sea level
– this will result in the flooding of the crater of an extinct volcano. When
required, water will be released to the lower reservoir driving turbines to
generate hydroelectricity. Besides filling the reservoir, the water desalination
plant will help compensate for any evaporation losses and produce water for
irrigation and domestic use (INSULA, 2008). The island’s existing 8.3MW
diesel power plant will remain in use as a contingency source of energy. In
addition to the hydro-wind station, El Hierro has plans for more solar thermal
installations, solar photovoltaics, several biogas/biomass plants and an
integrated alternative transport system.
How it evolved and what drove it

In the early 1980s, the Cabildo de El Hierro (island government) needed a
development model that respected the island’s heritage, conserved the natural
resources, improved basic infrastructures, advanced communications in and
out of the island and fostered cooperation among industries. It wanted to move
away from mass tourism based on real estate. But more importantly, it wanted
to prove that a sustainable development model on the island was possible
(Padrón, 2004).
When the island was declared as a World Biosphere Reserve by the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in
2000, the El Hierro government took advantage of the momentum gained
from this to push through its new Island Planning Regulations (PIOH) as well
as launch its sustainable development plan, entitled the ‘El Hierro 100 per cent
Renewable Energies’ project. A first for the Canary Islands, the plan aimed at
making El Hierro the first in Europe to be supplied with renewable energies,
turning the island into a worldwide benchmark for implementing energy self-
sufficiency and autonomy systems based on clean energy sources on isolated
islands.
The first public consultation meeting was held in April 2004 with various
socio-economic groups on El Hierro to help explain the importance of the
project to the development of the island and to highlight the significance of
community involvement in guaranteeing its success. Locals were invited to
express any concerns or ideas that they may have regarding the development.
INTERNATIONAL CASE STUDIES 95
They were informed that training sessions would be made available so each
individual would be able to easily adapt to the new technologies and
organizational structures as well as be prepared for the responsibility of fixing
and maintaining systems.
The turn towards wind-hydro power was natural for El Hierro because of
the strong trade winds, rugged terrain and low electricity demand in
comparison with the other islands of the Canary Archipelago. It is estimated
that wind power alone could potentially generate more than 80 per cent of the
island’s own electricity.
With financial support from the Directorate-General for Energy and
Transport (DG TREN) of the European Commission, a consortium of seven
partners called Gorona del Viento El Hierro, which included the island
government, the Canary Islands through the Technical Institute of the Canary
Islands (ITC) and the local utility (UNELCO-ENDESA) was established. By
2007, a call for tenders was published for the construction of the wind-hydro
plant. Its financing will be greatly assisted once island residents become
directly involved in the project as co-owners of the station by partly purchasing
shares in the company. Once in use, studies into the day-to-day running of the
facility will be conducted to determine the feasibility and economy of such
systems for their replication on other islands (INSULA, 2008). The plant is
scheduled to be fully operational by late 2010.
As part of the island’s energy plan, a new transport programme will
synergize a range of alternative transport systems through the support of a
local transport cooperative. An integrated network will include a hybrid bus as
an addition to the local fleet; an electric, battery-powered minibus for mixed
tourist-public use, which is recharged at a photovoltaic station; a revised
pedestrian network and an information transport system called the ‘El Hierro
– Digital Island’. A new ticketing system will turn private vehicles into public
transport by using an electronic system for fare payments, which will help save
energy and resources in the transport sector, particularly in dispersed rural
areas (IDAE, 2001a).
Already in existence is El Hierro’s solar thermal energy programme or
PROCASOL, which was created to promote solar thermal energy installations
on the island. The programme has helped launch a local company whose task
was to substitute electrical heaters with solar thermal systems in order to
reduce the total electricity demand for domestic hot water. The programme,
managed by ITC combine direct funding and loans at a zero interest rate in
three years with monthly instalments, both granted by the Regional Ministry
for Presidency and Technological Innovation and ITC, as finance. The direct
subsidy is €120 per m2 installed collector area. The owner of the system only
has to pay an initial amount of around 10 per cent of the total installation in
advance; the remainder is financed by ITC at zero interest (Piernavieja et al,
2003). Other incentives include guarantees for the collectors in their
installation and maintenance. The ultimate goal of the programme is the
installation of 2500m² of collectors in order to cover the entire island market.
Previously, photovoltaic energy came only from a few small stand-alone

systems (7kWp), disconnected to the grid. The main barriers to previous
implementation were insufficient information, the lack of qualified
suppliers/installers on the island, the shortage of private initiatives and the
apathy of locals. Some of these barriers were lifted by awareness campaigns,
training courses, workshops and seminars. But to further increase the
percentage of renewable energy into the grid, ITC created a local company to
supply and install PV systems, launching the so-called ‘10 PV roofs’, which
involved the installation of ten 5kWp units on public buildings (INSULA,
2008).
As part of the ‘El Hierro – zero waste’ initiative, the island produces biogas
from sewage sludge, animal waste, organic municipal wastes and organic
industrial waste from a slaughterhouse and dairy. This biogas programme is
the result of an international initiative with the island of Cuba, which has been
relying on technical experience and training gained from El Hierro. The first
phase of this project has resulted in the installation of several digesters
sponsored by El Hierro’s island government (IDAE, 2001a). Indeed, biofuels
have already partially substituted the diesel used in the power station or in
some transports on the island. The waste from forests and plantations (banana,
pineapple) has also been used as fuel for heat production, reducing the use of
electricity and butane. Future plans will involve the recycling of used oils and
energy crop cultivation as alternative fuel sources.
Informing the island residents of the government’s energy plans involved
leaflets, brochures, publications, website and software development,
organization of workshops and seminars and attendance in conferences and
exhibitions. Technical visits were organized composing of local authorities,
consumers associations, industry and private investors, tourism industry,
interested citizens from islands worldwide and EU representatives among
many others (INSULA, 2008).
Lessons learnt
El Hierro faces one major environmental challenge: the wind-hydro power
station will result in the loss of La Caldereta and the volcanic cone of Las
Tijeretas, two topographical and geological attractions to be transformed into
reservoirs. The island government is conscious of this issue and is working to
integrate future installations into the landscape with more care in order to
minimize visual and environmental impacts (Piernavieja et al, 2003).
A technical challenge for island will be the fluctuating characteristic of
wind, which the government hopes to counter by storing energy and by setting
a limit of 12 per cent market share for wind energy in the Canary Island
electricity act. The island recognizes that in order to fully realize the potential
of wind power, the energy must be stored. It will achieve this by taking
advantage of the new wind-hydro station. The energy from excess wind power
is used to pump water into a reservoir several hundred metres above sea level;
whereby water is released to lower turbines to be converted to electricity when

the wind power is in short supply. A stable frequency and voltage in the grid is
thus achieved from the energy storage and the manageable power output from
the hydro turbines ensures supplies whenever required (INSULA, 2008).
According to the Canary Island government, the hydro-wind power station
will save around 6000 tons of diesel fuel per year, oil that will no longer have
to be imported by ship and represents a saving of over €1.8 million a year on
the diesel oil bill. This means a reduction each year of CO2 emissions by
19,000 tonnes, sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions by 100 tons, nitrogen oxide
(NOx) by 400 tons and particulates by 7 tons (Padrón, 2004).
Through the dedication of the local government and various organizations
such as UNESCO, the island of El Hierro will be able to replace its fossil fuel
use with renewable energy sources and prove that renewable energy
integration can provide 100 per cent energy supply on islands, even into weak
grids within isolated areas, with pumped water storage as an economic way of
accumulating energy. It will set an important precedent for all islands
worldwide as they benefit from the experience gained in El Hierro. The
inhabitants of islands will enjoy many environmental and economic benefits in
form of reduced CO2 emissions, a better quality of life, energy independence
and increased employment.
The Pacific Islands
Figure 6.2 An improved ram

pump technology brings
running water to hillside
villages in the Philippines.
Ram pump designed by AID
Foundation and installed with
the help of villagers in Negros
Source: Ashden Awards/Martin
Wright
Basic facts
Solar photovoltaics have been used for more than 20 years in the Pacific
Islands. The total off-grid capacity installed in the region today is around
350MW. In Kiribati, for example, solar panels represent 20 per cent coverage
on the island and are used to power rural health centres and remote radio-
telephone sites (Mitra, 2006). Indeed, renewable energy techniques differ from
island to island. In Fiji, a village cooperative runs a small-scale hydroelectric
project to provide electricity to over 200 homes. In Papua New Guinea, a
hybrid renewable energy system, involving wind turbines and solar panels,
provides an independent power supply to a school. In Samoa, a medium-sized
hydro-project in Afalilo on the capital island of Upolu feeds 80 per cent hydro
and 20 per cent diesel to a hydroelectric power plant. In the Cook Islands,
coconut oil is used as fuel in a normal diesel engine, and has been used in
Vanuatu to fuel buses, taxis and other vehicles, as well as generators that
power a hydroponics project (UNESCO, 2003).

As early as 1985, conventional electrification was difficult, expensive and
generated very little demand. To deliver and reticulate diesel fuel was costly
and unreliable and there were often problems with engine and grid
maintenance on remote islands. So the use of solar photovoltaics became the
most practical and cost-effective alternative for rural electrification
(Marconnet, 2007).
The European Union (EU), France and the US were among the first to offer
assistance in the implementation of solar electrification, which was much
welcomed by the island nations. There was no model to follow so the Pacific
became a laboratory for renewables-based rural electrification, with trials of
various technologies such as biomass gasification, biomass combustion,
biofuels, biogas, wind, tidal and solar power (United Nations, 2004).
Most of the early projects were small, with the largest including only a few
hundred users. Local training programmes were provided by various
organizations and supplemented by regional training activities. By 2000, plans
were in place for large-scale development of renewable energy for rural
electrification but also to replace conventional energy for grid based power
generation and transport (United Nations, 2004).
A range of funding agencies provided substantial technical and financial
support to renewable energy and efficiency projects in the Pacific region.
Australia is the largest aid donor to the Pacific Islands. In 2000, in association
with France, Australia set up a Pacific Renewable Energy Programme to assist
the island nations to improve energy efficiency measures, increase the use of
renewable energy and reduce emissions through fuel switching. As the eighth
largest supplier of aid, the EU earmarked €15.2 billion (about $14,000
million) to be distributed over twenty years. Their financing moves towards
budgetary aid and away from projects. In Tuvalu, for example, they used the
government’s existing arrangements for the finance they had available for the
activities they wanted to support rather than engaging contractors themselves
(ICEPAC, 2000).
However, by 2003 it was estimated that 70 per cent of people living in the
Pacific Islands still did not have access to electricity. Despite the abundance of
renewable energy resources such as solar energy, hydro, bio and wind, the
islands remained dependent on imported diesel for their power and transport
needs, the cost of which was almost four times that of neighbouring countries
such as Australia and New Zealand (ADB, 2003). With rising petroleum prices
as well as rising sea levels over low-lying atolls, the situation was becoming
increasingly unsustainable (Woodruff, 2007).
In 2007, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
decided to implement the Sustainable Energy Financing Project. Their
donation of $9.5 million aimed to fund solar photovoltaics and pico-hydro
projects over ten years. Primarily backing the private sector, the World Bank
began by making available loan guarantees and loans to people in rural areas
to buy solar equipment.
As a result of all this effort, the inhabitants of the Pacific Islands today
enjoy reliable and affordable electricity through better quality lighting and
appliance use. Shopkeepers can operate at night as street lighting has
improved. There is an increase in productivity as household members can
engage in productive activities such as weaving or studying for longer hours
at night; hence improving income and education. Hygiene has improved
through better food storage and reduced indoor pollution levels. There are
more entertainment and communication opportunities through the use of
televisions, mobile phones and radios. The reduced risk from fires associated
with the use of kerosene lamps and fuel wood has ensured personal safety. A
study in 2006 showed that solar home systems and micro-hydroelectricity
were gradually replacing the use of diesel, kerosene or dry cell batteries as the
renewable energy systems were becoming more and more cost-effective
(Woodruff, 2007).
Lessons learnt
The development of renewable energy in the Pacific Islands faced a variety of
institutional, financial, educational and technical challenges. First, the
renewable energy sector in the region often received low political priority. With
the exception of the island of Palau, most countries failed to develop policies
that ensured that renewable energy technologies were adequately considered
during energy planning. When electrifying rural areas, for example, it was
difficult to manage at the village level as well as regulate the involvement of
private companies. Some countries did not even have a policy for rural
development. It was also difficult to implement energy efficiency programmes
because of the lack of building codes, particularly in the larger island countries
(UNESCAP, 2002). The success of any renewable energy projects required
management procedures that made certain the maintenance of equipment and

the collection of consumer fees that were set to an appropriate level which
guaranteed the financial sustainability of projects (Woodruff, 2007).
With regards to market barriers in the Pacific Islands, there were incentive
problems, high transaction costs and ‘lean-and-incomplete’ electricity markets.
Government policies were needed to lower the high up-front costs. Some have
suggested such strategies as import tax exemptions, the provision of soft loans,
or enhancing the consumers’ ability to pay for energy through electrification
projects that incorporate income-generating schemes (Woodruff, 2007). In
comparison with policy tenders and renewable trading certificates, tariffs
proved to be most successful for connecting small- and medium-scale
renewable energy independent producers to the electrical grids (Marconnet,
2007).
The generous financial donations for the renewable energy projects in the
Pacific Islands were often distributed in a fragmented and discontinuous way,
due to ad hoc coordination and unclear responsibilities between energy
agencies and governments. The failure of many projects was often the result of
unrealistic goals that were either too ambitious or vague. Activities were often
incompatible with existing policies and socio-economic structures.
Furthermore, as projects were largely grant-funded, this created a low sense of
ownership among locals, hence the issue of over-reliance on external aid to
fund projects (ADB, 2003).
The need for public education on renewable energy was critical,
particularly in the outer islands and rural areas, where a number of solar
electrification projects have failed due to insufficient information and hence
poor maintenance (Marconnet, 2007). And despite the involvement of many
organizations in providing renewable energy training, the technical expertise to
plan, manage and maintain renewable energy and energy efficiency
programmes were still inadequate. Projects suffered from a rapid turnover of
field maintenance personnel, resulting in few qualified trainers. Individuals
who received very good training frequently left for better-paid employment
elsewhere.
The fragile marine ecosystems of the Pacific Islands will be effected by any
significant infrastructural change (Woodruff, 2007). Wind turbine
installations, for example, involve deep localized excavation, the use of a
substantial amount of concrete for its base construction and the transportation
of heavy components. The turbines often produce mechanical and
aerodynamic noise and cause electromagnetic interference in televisions and
radios as well as interference with bird migration and low flying aircraft. While
owners see wind power as a sign of prosperity, neighbours consider them a
disturbance.
The Pacific experiences reasonably good winds, but these are generally
non-existent in equatorial areas. For this reason, as well as the lack of available
land, the difficulty in obtaining land leases, and the large risk of damage to
turbines posed by cyclones, large-scale wind farms have not been feasible
(Woodruff, 2007). Wind turbines only provide power to the electrical grids in
Fiji, Nabouwalu, Nabua, Butoni (10MW) and the island of Mangaia in the
Cook Islands.
Most of the early solar PV systems in the Pacific suffered from technical
deficiencies, not in the panels themselves, but in controllers, batteries and other
associated appliances. Among other causes were unreliable components,
inappropriate design, such as undersized panels, improper installation and
poor maintenance (Liebenthal et al, 1994). While most flaws have been
remedied, one minor challenge remained: light bulb failure – the replacement
of which required several days of waiting for households. Nonetheless, in
isolated areas where skilled technicians were scarce, photovoltaics systems still
worked best. They required less maintenance compared with diesel generators,
which needed regular and costly overhauls, sometimes taking weeks to months
to repair when it fails.
Hydroelectricity has suited larger island nations due to the high start-up
costs and high electricity thresholds the facilities demand. Smaller-scale micro-
hydro schemes adapted better in areas where populations were low and
isolated, and where geographies could not support large water catchments.
Although small, micro-hydro was not without its challenges. The use of local
wood for dam construction caused the operational failure of one hydro plant
in a small rural village, left dishevelled because all efforts were focused on
maintaining the plant. Despite the use of local resources, the local timber in
this case was not sufficiently durable.
The use of coconut oil as a biofuel has been limited by operational and
market factors. Because of the viscosity of coconut oil, incomplete combustion
causes carbon deposits in diesel engines – a problem that can be avoided in
indirect injection engines (Vaitilingom, 2006 cited in Woodruff, 2007). The
production of coconut oil itself has suffered not only from fluctuating prices,
weak management and limited investment but also from the limited
availability of copra, rising labour costs and natural disasters (CocoGen, 2005
cited in Woodruff, 2007). The feasibility of coconut oil as a biofuel requires a
resurgence in the copra industry alongside improved processing technology.
In summary, access to energy has improved the health, education and
economic development of the Pacific Island nations, helping to ease
environmental problems already in progress. However, the degrees of success
will depend on local conditions, a good mix of renewable resources,
availability, credible management and stable financial frameworks.
Samsø, Denmark
Basic facts
The Danish island of Samsø is located off the coast of the Jutland Peninsula.
Its population density is low: some 4100 people live on 11,400 hectares.
Agriculture is the biggest sector of its economy and tourism the second largest,
attracting half a million guests a year. At the EU Renewable Energy conference
Figure 6.3 Daycare by

bike in Samsø
Source: Samsø Energy
Academy
in Toulouse in 2000, Samsø received an award for being ‘the best renewable
energy island in Europe’ (INSULA, 2001). Today Samsø is known as the
inspiration behind other ‘renewable energy islands’ such as El Hierro in the
Canaries, La Maddalena in Italy and Aran Islands in Ireland, each focusing on
different kinds of renewable energy.

In 1997, the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy sponsored a
renewable energy contest challenging communities to abandon fossil fuel
dependency in a planned fashion, as part of the Danish Action Plan of 1996.
Chosen from five competing islands, the winning plan proposed that the island
of Samsø power and fuel itself entirely on renewable energy within a ten year
period. Much faith was placed in a plan that was devised by an engineer who
did not actually live on the island, albeit some consultation with the island’s
mayor. Limited funding caused the project to go nowhere for many years, as
Samsø received nothing for winning, until a federally funded position opened
to head up the initiative. Søren Hermansen, an environmental studies teacher,

secured the position.
Reaching out to the community took considerable time and effort.
Hermansen made a point of attending every local meeting to pitch the project.
It wasn’t until he proposed the project as a social relations undertaking –
asking community members to think about what it would be like to work on
it together and have something to be proud of – that the initiative began to
appeal to the citizens of Samsø. With increasing success and popularity,
seminars on wind energy were held and soon energy development cooperatives
began to emerge (Kolbert, 2008).
The Renewable Energy Island plan for Samsø was implemented with five
goals. They were to save energy and increase efficiency; expand the collective
heating supply systems fuelled with renewable energy; expand individual
heating systems using heat pumps, solar heating or biomass; establish land
based and offshore wind power plants; and gradually convert the transport
sector from petrol and oil to renewables-based electricity (INSULA, 2001).
The process of finding wind turbine sites and financing began in 1998. The
Samsø Energy Supply Company was established to coordinate the various
energy supply projects. Eleven 1MW land-based turbines were erected between
1999 and 2000 at a cost of DKK66 million (about €8.8 million), with shares
sold to islanders, generating local income with local power. The number of
turbines had to be reviewed in a public hearing after 40 private applications
for wind permits were submitted (INSULA, 2001).
Ten more generators, rated at 2.3MW were installed offshore in 2002 after
five years of detailed planning at a cost of DKK250 million (about €33.3
million), funded by the Danish Energy Agency (Samsø Energiakademi, 2008).
They were installed as a notional, imperfect compensation for the continued
use of fossil fuels used in cars, trucks and ferries. The turbines would also
supply electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell cars in the future. The new turbines
soon helped Samsø achieve 100 per cent of its electricity demand, compared to
75 per cent as previously planned (INSULA, 2001).
Most windmills were funded by individual investors, such as local farmer
Jøgen Tranberg; and only two were owned collectively, in contrast to common
perceptions about Danish traditions of wind power collectives-based
investment. Annual donations received from the windmill owners contributed
to other public energy projects on the island.
By 2001, fossil fuel consumption had been cut in half and by 2005 Samsø
produced more renewable electricity than it used so it began exporting it. Since
then, heat has been generated in the DH plants, cleanly combusting locally
grown straw and wood chips, producing superheated water in four central
plants, to be pumped underground to homes. The plan was that 60 per cent of
homes on the island would be heated through DH systems, and 40 per cent of
individual homes. Over 2000 homes, those outside the DH areas, were given
various heating and power improvement options, from conservation to
renewable energy installation (Samsø Energiakademi, 2008).
Samsø‘s pioneering Tranebjerg district has produced straw-based heat since

1994. By 2002, the Nordy/Mårup DH station was opened to produce 80 per
cent of the heat from wood chips and 20 per cent from a 2500m² solar heating
system. Homeowners with oil furnaces were the primary target and they were
asked to voluntarily sign up by June 1999 and only pay a membership fee of
DKK100 ($20). To provide a disincentive to postponing change, the cost after
that date rose to nearly $8000. As a result, 78 per cent of homeowners in Nordy
signed up and 83 per cent of homeowners in Mårup. Only the new buildings
built in areas with existing or planned DH were obliged to connect to the DH
system. In 2003, the straw-based Onsbjerg plant was opened by a local
contractor and run by a local committee, and in 2004 the Ballen-Brundby
straw-based plant was opened as a heating system owned exclusively by the
consumers themselves (Samsø Energiakademi, 2008). To date, the four plants
cover 70 per cent of the islands heating needs (INSULA, 2001).
To reduce the heating requirement on the island, buildings were renovated
or retrofitted with new insulation. Companies and public buildings were fitted
with new energy control and monitoring systems. Pensioners were eligible for
refunds of up to half their energy conservation costs from the national
government, with a maximum of DKK25,000 ($4705). This resulted in new
insulation work and window installations worth nearly DKK3 million
($565,000), after 92 island pensioners agreed to participate in the programme
(INSULA, 2001).
The total investment for the renewable energy island projects was about
DKK425 million or €57 million (Samsø Energiakademi, 2008). Financial
resources primarily came from the Danish Energy Agency, Aarhus Regional
Authority and Samsø municipality. Other contributers included the Samsø
Business Forum, Samsø Farmer’s Association, Samsø Energy Supply Company
and Finland’s Ministry of Energy. It is important to note that in the earlier
stages the government offered no funding, tax breaks or technical expertise
(Walsh, 2008).
Lessons learnt
There were other types of renewable energy installations planned on Samsø but
most had failed. Among them were plans to use excess heat from the Sealand
ferry for DH purposes, to extract biogas from pig farms’ slurry and to produce
natural gas from cow manure. The one project that did succeed was a biogas
facility based on methane extraction off a disused landfill site. Methane gas is
used to run a 15kW motor/generator, which produces electricity that is then
sold to the grid. Installed in 2000 by a local cooperative that included the
Samsø Energy Company and some farmers, it received financial support from
the Danish Energy Agency. The success of this installation has resulted in a
similar facility at Samsø’s existing disposal site, which depending on the
volume and quality of the methane gas, generates not just electricity but heat
for site buildings (INSULA, 2001).
The transport sector has been difficult and costly to regulate because much
of the sector relies on oil. The initial energy plan from 1997 recommended
more energy efficient driving habits, more flexible bus transportation service
and the use of electric cars, but in the case of electric cars, the market has been
nonexistent (Samsø Energiakademi, 2008). The municipality’s experiment with
electric cars failed when one of the demonstration vehicles spent most of the
year with the mechanics (Kolbert, 2008). To begin to abandon fossil transport
fuel, many farmers today experiment with biomass and have begun to run their
tractors on rape seed oil. But some have required expert help in relation to
pressing oil, expertise that has not been readily available on the island.
Within an eight-year period since 1997, heat production from renewable
energy in Samsø increased from 25 per cent to 65 per cent and heat
consumption decreased by 10 per cent. Generally, the share of renewable
energy increased when oil imports dropped. Unfortunately, electricity
consumption has remained the same because despite savings and better
practices in energy use, homes have more domestic equipment (Samsø
Energiakademi, 2008). Households that had better insulation also tended to
heat more rooms, so the net savings were zero (Kolbert, 2008).
The promotion of renewable energy by public campaigns and local effort
has helped increase the rate of renewable energy installations on Samsø. About
300 private homes have invested in individual renewable energy heating
systems. Thermal solar units have been installed on roofs for hot water and
space heating, while oil furnaces have been replaced with biomass boilers or
heat pumps, the latter as either large ground-heat systems to supply the entire
house or smaller air-to-air heat pumps for localized space heating (Samsø
Energiakademi, 2007). There are also solar installations in ports, at a youth
hostel, campsite and a holiday camp (INSULA, 2001).
The renewable energy projects (windmills, DH plants, renewable energy
installations in private buildings) have been an important source of local jobs.
In 2007, the Samsø Energy Academy was opened to house the Samsø Energy
Agency, Samsø Energy and Environment Office and Energy Service Denmark.
It showcases Samsø’s renewable island project and works as an educational
and research laboratory (Samsø Energiakademi, 2008).
Samsø’s ecotourism has boomed, with many people coming to visit the
Renewable Energy Island project. They range from politicians, businessmen,
students, planners, engineers, schools and even some activists. The Welcome
Center was opened by the Samsø Ecomuseum in 2000, enabling tourists to
explore the cultural history of the island as well as learn more about the
renewable energy island project.
The success of Samsø’s renewable energy island was the adoption of the
project, empowerment and ownership by the people. One dedicated local
citizen was able to reach out to his community and inspire it to enact local but
powerful change. Citizens came together to create local organization and to
adapt to new lifestyles based on renewable energy. With a diverse mix of
renewable energy sources combined with energy efficiency and carefully
structured sustainable development measures, the island has been able to

demonstrate that self-sufficiency is possible for entire communities.
Güssing, Austria
Figure 6.4 The ‘Green Drop’ symbolizing Güssing’s ökoEnergieland model

Source: EEE GmbH
Basic facts
Güssing is located in a densely-forested region of south-eastern Austria, along
the Hungarian border, 130km southeast of Vienna. With a population of 4000
people, the town features a 12th-century castle built by Hungarian nobles.
Traditionally Güssing’s economy relies on small-scale agriculture, with farmers
selling corn, sunflower oil and timber. Until the fall of the Iron Curtain,
Güssing was one of the poorest areas of Austria. It had neither railroad nor
highway, and poor infrastructure resulted in high unemployment with many
residents migrating or commuting far to work elsewhere. It was not until 1974
when it was given town status (ökoEnergieland, 2008).
In 2004, Güssing received the European Solar Prize in recognition for its
sustainable regional development process (Eurosolar, 2004). In September
2005, its European Centre for Renewable Energies (EEE) was awarded the
Global 100 ECO-TECH Award in Japan for the ‘Güssing model’, winning ¥1
million in prize money. Chosen from more than 230 entries worldwide, the
award recognizes projects that have made a significant contribution to solving
environmental problems and to creating a sustainable future.
Today Güssing is a model for environment-friendly energy production
based on the principles of energy saving, value-adding and environmental
protection (Rauch, 2005). It has become the first town in the EU to cut carbon
emissions by at least 90 per cent.
Güssing’s achievements can be attributed to the 30 renewable energy plants
operating within 10km of the town. These plants cover the town’s three main
energy demands: fuel for transportation, residential heating and electricity
(Aichernig et al, 2002). The €2 million rape oil refinery produces 8 million
litres of biodiesel per year by processing rapeseed and used cooking oil. The
biomass plant supplies 23MW of heating to the DH network by processing
24,000 tons of agricultural and forestry material. A biogas plant representing
an investment of €2.1 million generates 0.5MW of electricity and 0.6MW of
heat by using 11,000 tons of silage off 250 hectares of farmland. The grass and
maize is anaerobically digested in the biogas plant to generate gas, which is fed
into the plant to make synthetic natural gas. This is compressed and sold to
vehicles on the main arterial road.
Güssing has two solar demonstation units consisting of a photovoltaic
plant that produces 9MW of electricity and a solar thermal plant that
generates 15MW of heating per year. The plants use innovative solar roof tiles
made from recycled plastic waste, which are integrated with solar modules.
However, the most important innovation in Güssing has been the state-of-the-
art biomass gasification plant. With a fuel capacity of 8MW, the plant operates
8000 hours a year to produce 2.5MW of electricity and 4.5MW of heat for DH
by processing 2300kg of wood per hour (RENET, 2006). The heating station
also operates drying chambers, with scope for district cooling.
Güssing’s consumers consist of 300 private houses, public offices, schools,
hospitals and industrial companies. The plants generate a total of 22MWh per
year. An excess of 8MWh is fed into the national grid, generating €4.7 million
in revenue each year and a profit of €500,000, which is reinvested into the
community and its renewable energy projects (GreenUpAndGo, 2007).
Compared to the €6.2 million spent on energy in 1991, the municipality
generates around €13 million each year from the renewable sector (based on
2005 figures), with 1000 new jobs created and 60 companies attracted to the
area.

The renewable energy initiative began in Güssing primarily due to economic
need. By the late 1980s, the municipality had a massive fuel debt. The town
was struggling to pay its €6 million electricity bill. Fossil fuels bought from the
outside were very costly (GreenUpAndGo, 2007). The debt had to be cleared
before any form of investment into renewables. But it was only after the sight
of the forests, farmland and sunshine from the top of Güssing castle which
finally convinced the town’s mayor, Peter Vadasz, of the town’s renewable
potential (Alden, 2007).
With the help of Rheinhard Koch, the town’s electrical engineer, and
Herbert Sattler, the head of the local timber growers association, they began
examining ways the residents could benefit from their natural resources. In
1990, a model was developed to completely phase out energy supplies that
were based on fossil fuels. The plan was to supply the town of Güssing with
renewable energy and then the entire region. First, energy saving measures
were introduced, including better windows and full thermal insulation. Then,
public buildings were ordered not to use any more fossil fuels. This resulted in
a reduction of 50 per cent in energy expenditure within only two years.
The construction of the bioenergy plants soon followed. The biodiesel
plant was put into production in 1991, producing more biodiesel than needed,
and within the following four years, the biomass and biogas plants had been
installed powering and heating local homes and buildings in the centre of
town. When the biomass gasification plant was installed in 2001, it enabled
Güssing to become truly energy self-sufficient (BMVIT, 2007).
Work on the DH system began by digging up the town’s streets to take the
insulated pipes carrying the hot water (which was heated in the central boiler
of the biomass plant) to the whole town, street by street, even to homes that
did not want the supply, so they could join later whenever they wished
(Douthwaite, 2006). Heat is recovered from the hot water through heat
exchangers in the buildings of customers. The cooled-off water is returned
through separate pipelines (Tirone, 2007). The benefit of this system was that
households no longer needed individual boilers. The new system would be just
as convenient as heating with oil and would not be costly, although some
residents remained unconvinced. Today the DH system is 30 per cent cheaper
and more efficient. A 5MW boiler was installed in 1998 to cope with the
growing demand, with several extensions since resulting in a 42MW capacity
system along a 27km network.
In the next project, it was decided that in addition to heating, Güssing
would produce electricity and synthetic fuels. In 1998, the Viennese scientist,
Hermann Hofbauer and Vienna’s Technical University were asked to build a
demonstration plant applying an innovative technology, which were unlike the
typical gasification plants around the world. Developed by Hofbauer, this type
of plant avoids the build-up of tar when wood is heated. The process involves
producing natural gas by using steam to separate carbon and hydrogen from
scrap lumber, and then recombining the molecules. The natural gas fuels an
engine that produces electricity and the by-product heat is used to produce
warm water for the DH system. The gas is also used in the production of
synthetic diesel oil, through the Fischer-Tropsch process (Tirone, 2007).
The main advantage of the gasification process is that it uses steam rather
than air to turn the biomass into a gas with very little tar and with a high heat
value. There are also low gaseous emissions and no liquid emissions (Aichernig
et al, 2002). The equilibrium achieved between the combustion and
gasification reactions, which occur automatically, ensures stable operation
without any excessive regulation and adjustment (RENET, 2006). Another
crucial advantage is the facility’s compact construction.
In economic terms, the biomass gasification power plant has been a highly
successful model. Electricity sold to the electrical grid operator is €0.25 less
than the €0.373/kWh previously paid by domestic consumers in the area
(Douthwaite, 2006). The biomass feedstock is costly but covered by high fixed
FiTs for green electricity up to €0.16/kWh for solid biomass. Price for the heat
into the grid is €0.02/kWh, price for heat to the consumer is €0.039/kWh and
the price of electricity is €0.16/kWh (RENET, 2006).
The initial cost of the gasification power plant was covered by grants, 40
per cent of which came from the Austrian and the Burgenland regional
governments. As a member of the EU with an Objective 1 status, an amount
of €6 million was made available. To qualify for Objective 1 status the GDP
per capita for the region must be below 75 per cent of the EU average
(Wikipedia, 2008a). Half of the rest of the money came from fees charged to
buildings that connected to the system, and the remainder was borrowed from
a bank. It took four years to raise the capital investment of €11 million and
attain all the grants and approvals necessary (Douthwaite, 2006). The solar
demonstration plants required an investment of €130,000, of which €23,000
was financed by the EU.
Lessons learnt
Güssing’s energy plan experienced a variety of challenges since its inception.
During the construction of the gasification plant, the EU received a complaint
by a local company criticizing the tendering process. Work continued but the
EU progress payments were immediately stopped. An unresolved situation for
two years resulted in steadily increasing costs to the construction budget. The
town’s mayor and engineer took the plaintiff to court but before proceedings
were concluded, the company had gone bankrupt (Douthwaite, 2006).
The reliance on wood for fuel is a significant issue for the town because
only half of the municipality is covered by forests. Plans for more plants
(Aichernig et al, 2002) combined with an annual consumption of around
24,000 tons of wood (Douthwaite, 2006) pose a challenge to biomass
availability. Some have argued that if only one third of the forests is consumed
(RENET, 2006), this would be enough to supply Güssing with all of its
electrical power and district heat. The town is conscious about looking after
the surrounding forest to ensure they have a good supply of renewable
resources for the future. There are plans to grow timber using short rotation
forestry methods, which will require some of the arable land previously used
for growing maize (Douthwaite, 2006). The switch to solar power will also
turn the focus away from biomass (Tirone, 2007).
Today the farmers of Güssing are seen as key energy providers. Most of the
farmers report positive feelings about their contribution to the community and
now value their work even more. They feel a closer connection to the
community. Most of them are on long-term contracts to grow energy crops at
a fixed price, which are higher than the market value so they can make a good
income. The municipality can thus offer lower energy costs for residents and
new businesses (White, 2007). The price is fixed for a duration of ten years,
which is currently about €0.016/kWh (Aichernig et al, 2002).
Güssing’s energy concept has transformed the region within 15 years into
one with a high living standard and low unemployment (BMVIT, 2007). Today
Güssing has become an important location for industries with high-energy
consumption, such as parquetry production and hardwood drying. The
companies use timber coming from local woods and benefit from the cheap
heat supply and good market for offcuts (Douthwaite, 2006). A significant
coup was the entry of Blue Chip Energy, the first company in Austria to
produce high-efficiency solar cells, and Solon AG, one of Germany’s first solar
energy companies, which reportedly came to Güssing only so they could power
their plant with energy from renewable resources (Wikipedia, 2008a).
In 1996, the European Centre for Renewable Energy (EEE) was founded
in Güssing to enable companies within the region to share and export their
renewable energy technologies and expertise (Alden, 2007). The municipality
hosts a team of highly trained technicians and international scientists working
to develop innovative technologies, solutions and patents. The biomass plant,
for example, has become a research laboratory for studies such as the synthesis
of methane, the operation of fuel cells and production of liquid fuels. A pan-
European project with participation of Volkswagen, Daimler-Chrysler, Volvo,
Renault, BP, EDF and other partners (RENEW) is investigating other biofuel
alternatives. Another project is focusing on solar cooling to determine ways the
sun can be used as an energy source for air conditioning (Urschick, 2004).
With energy production comes energy management and a research project
is underway to determine future cost savings in operational techniques,
monitoring and optimization (Urschick, 2004). It is envisaged that the next
plant will be 25 per cent cheaper due to the experience gained and the adoption
of new technologies, such as examining the potential of unmanned operations
(Lutter, 2004).
In 2003, a Solar School was founded to offer operational training for
electricians, plumbers, teachers and other professionals in solar energy (EEE,
2009). With its eight research laboratories, it features a demonstration thermal
solar plant for hot water, heating and cooling, and a photovoltaic plant
generating electricity to run the thermal solar plant. A programme for
secondary school students teaches renewable energy practices and technical
skills, such as how to use heat pumps, solar cells and solar panels. It includes
practical workshops and site inspections of facilities. This learning programme
is now running throughout Europe (Fitzgerald, 2008).
Green energy tourism has brought extra income to the town. People are
greeted at the entry into town with signs reading ‘ökoEnergieland’ or ‘Eco-
Energy Land’. As part of Güssing’s tourism marketing, the brand is also
expressed as a green water drop symbol. An average of 400 tourists visit Güssing
each week. They are as diverse as farmers, investors and politicians, some
coming from around the world to gain inspiration (Tirone, 2007). To
accommodate this influx of visitors, a new motel has even been built near the
EEE, heated and powered exclusively by renewables, hence true to the eco-
energy experience (GreenUpAndGo, 2007). Visitors can also benefit from guided
tours to the various plants and other joint cultural activities such as the eco-
energy marathon, all organized in cooperation with the EEE (BMVIT, 2007).
In essence, the key to Güssing’s success was the leadership shown by the
mayor and the town council. Fundamental to achieving common energy goals
were community involvement, private partnership, research and development
coupled with a solid regional commitment.
Jämtland, Sweden
Figure 6.5 Renewables for environmental protection in Jämtland county

Source: Roger Strandberg
Basic facts
Jämtland county is a historical province in the centre of Sweden in northern
Europe. It is part of the Mid-Green Belt, an area known for its natural and
cultural heritage and high environmental quality. Set in a densely wooded
region, with its 128,000 inhabitants, the county accounts for 12 per cent of the
total area of Sweden, but only 1.5 per cent of the total population. Jämtland is
the second largest province in Sweden, with Östersund its largest and only city
in the province as the centre of trade and commerce.
Jämtland is one of the few Swedish regions that was never fully
industrialized. Its large agricultural sector traditionally supplied the
Norrlandic coast with lumber. Large concentrations of uranium and deposits
of, for example, gold, zinc, mica, silver, lead, iron and copper can also be found
here. It was not until after the railways were built that Jämtland’s economy
turned predominantly to tourism (Wikipedia, 2008b).
Jämtland was the first county council in Europe to be certified by ISO
14001 Environmental Management System and EMAS (EU Eco-Management
and Audit Scheme). In 2006, Jämtland won the European Solar Prize and
joined the EU’s four-year campaign on ‘Sustainable Energy Europe’ (TVLink
Europe, 2005). Today more than 60 per cent of all heat and about 90 per cent
of all power is derived from renewable sources. The county generates a total
of 12.5TWh in electricity, involving 12.3TWh of hydro-power, 0.04TWh of
wind power and 0.2TWh of CHP biofuels. Heat production amounts to
2.3TWh, involving 1.1TWh of biofuels, 0.7TWh of electricity, 0.2TWh from
heating oil, 0.1TWh from peat and 0.1TWh from heat pumps. In summary,
two-thirds of its heating is fuelled by bioenergy or waste heat. Three per cent
of the county’s transport uses ethanol, as most of its motorists have turned to
biofuels. In recent years, the use of thermal solar energy in houses and
commercial buildings has increased, and the use of biofuels in middle-scale
heating plants (50kW–1MW) also rising. As a result of all these efforts, the
county has effectively reduced its CO2 emissions by 20 per cent within 14 years
(since 1990) (Anjevall, 2007).
Jämtland aims to derive all of its energy from renewable sources by 2050,
in effect, moving completely away from all fossil and nuclear resources and
hence achieve energy autonomy (Eurosolar, 2006).

Jämtland is on track to achieve energy self-sufficiency because it has an
abundant supply of biomass – the region is almost completely covered by
woods and forests. Since the inception of renewable energy in the early 1990s,
it has been able, in a relatively short period of time, to advance the use of
biomass for heating and power generation in the region. The CHP plant that
supply 25,000 households in Östersund, for instance, has made Jämtland’s
only city one of the most successful in Sweden in reducing CO2 emissions
(Östersunds kommun, 2008). Around 90 per cent of the city’s heat and 30 per
cent of its energy use is produced in this co-generation plant (TVLink Europe,
2005). The city also collects methane gas from landfills for fuel.
The large amounts of wood residues accumulated during the short summer
months are used to fuel a co-generation plant during the long and cold winters.
All kinds of wooden materials such as wood chips or sawdust from the local
forestry industry or discarded timber from demolition works are burnt in the
plant’s steam boilers to generate heat and power. For one local, Karl-Erik
Strindlund, high winter costs for heating are no longer a problem. In 2003 he
converted his heating from electricity to biomass. Hot water pipes buried in his
garden supply heat produced in the Östersund plant directly to his house. He
has heat exchange units, regulated by a small computer. The new installation
has helped him and his family lower their energy bills (TVLink Europe, 2005).
Similar small-scale heating solutions are applied in villages across the
county. The village of Brünflo for instance, recently converted from oil-
generated heating to wooden pellets and now supplies heat and hot water to
700 households. Produced by local timber companies, the pellets are becoming
an increasingly popular clean-heating solution in Jämtland, as well as in the
whole of Sweden.
Burning pellets releases as much CO2 as if the wood had been left to break
down naturally in the forest. The pellets are produced from waste woodchips
and sawdust that would otherwise be thrown out. Wood pellets are more
efficient at producing heat than plain wood because they are dried and
compressed. In summer, boilers need only to be filled once a week and in
winter, once a day. The traditional wood burning system would in comparison,
require regular re-topping. The pellet boilers are quite expensive (around
€4500–8500), but most users think it is worth the investment (TVLink
Europe, 2005). The boiler provides hot water and keeps the whole house
warm. Those who have replaced burning oil and/or electricity with wood
pellets have cut heating costs by about SEK500,000 ($64,500) per year and
decreased emissions by about 500 tons per year. It is estimated that the average
energy demand for heating of a one-family house is about 25MWh each year
(Hall, 2003).
There is strong public and political support for wind power in the region.
Strömsund in Jämtland, for example, is one of four wind power centres in
Sweden. The region has good winds and the proximity to the transmission
network will limit power transmission losses (RISI, 2008). Strömsund will be
the centre of education for the operation and maintenance technicians
dedicated to this industry. It will attract new businesses in the field of wind
power, in relation to building infrastructure, services and maintenance and
electrical engineering (Hagdahl, 2003) and hence boost employment
opportunities.
Jämtland’s goal is to ultimately generate 1TWh of wind power by 2015,
build distribution systems for alternative fuels and stop the ‘single use’ of
heating oil by 2010. The latest scheme is for a closed working energy cycle
involving CHP, ethanol and biofuel production. Peat, timber from local forests
and waste sawdust from local saw mills will be used to produce pellets to
power the ethanol plant and CHP plant, which in turn produce heat to be fed
into the DH system and electricity that powers the pellet plant and sawmills.
The pellets are also sold commercially as fuel for heating for buildings not
connected to the DH system. Heat is also redirected back and used in the
sawmills. The ethanol produced becomes fuel for transport and the methane
gas sold to industry and the general public. The organic by-product generated
by the CHP plant and ethanol plant becomes fertilizer and is sold to farmers
for growing local vegetables and flowers in greenhouses. In sum, the entire
process will be a no-waste cycle (Anjevall, 2007).
According to Jimmy Anjevall, Project Leader for the Energy Agency in
Östersund, information evenings were very important during first efforts to
promote bioenergy. Information had to include not just the use but what
investments were required, what installation procedures were involved, and
other technical issues regarding DH and heat pumps (TVLink Europe, 2005).
The challenge of promoting community participation and re-education was
tackled by regular presentations made by Jämtland’s Energy Agency about the
benefits of renewable energy in all of its eight municipalities. Other forms of
promotion included advertisements in newspapers, on TV, radio and the
internet, informing residents about electricity use in heating as well as energy
efficiency, in particular saving energy in office buildings (Anjevall, 2007).
Overall, the community was supportive. The plan to replace oil heating
with DH networks based on biomass in the beginning for instance, was readily
adopted, which as a result, led to a reduction in the use of heating oil by 40
per cent since 1997 (Sustainable Energy Europe, 2008). The two following
examples show how important promotion was to the financing,
implementation and success of bioenergy projects in Jämtland County.
From June 2001 until May 2002, the project ‘Comfortable use of wood
pellets in one-family houses’ was initiated. In cooperation with the Swedish
Energy Agency, a regional plan was drawn up with two simple goals. First, the
number of one-family houses in Jämtland County heated by wood pellets
should increase to 50 and second, the owners of one-family houses would only
need to make only one telephone call when deciding to install a wood pellet
system. The immediate result of the project was a total of 95 houses using the
system (Hall, 2003).
Another project implemented was the ‘Thermal solar energy in detached
houses’ project initiated in 2003. It aimed to increase the interest in thermal
solar energy in houses among energy advisors, companies and the general
public of Jämtland (Hall, 2004). To foster interest, the first strategy was to
coordinate information and education activities for plumbers, installation
companies and households. Together with energy advisors to the
municipalities, seven information evenings, a regional exhibition attracting
30,000 visitors, and study tours with companies enabled interaction between
industry and community (Hall, 2004).
All eight municipalities provided finance for most of the county’s bioenergy
initiatives, with strong support from local, regional and national politicians as
well as industry (Anjevall, 2007). There were grants for transportation,
investments and training of staff in efficient driving (Hagdahl, 2003), and
incentives and bonus programmes such as free parking for vehicles driving
with biofuel (Eurosolar, 2006). Since June 2000, subsidies were provided to
stimulate the usage of thermal solar energy in residential buildings. The
household solar project, for example, received €20,000 of funding, financed

by several private companies, energy advisors and the Swedish Energy Agency,
which provided €6000 (Hall, 2004). The agency also supported the household
pellet project in cooperation with the Jämtland County Energy Agency (Hall,
2003).
Lessons learnt
The county faced a few challenges when implementing its renewable energy
projects. The household pellet project for instance, faced some resistance from
traditional plumbing firms when pellet burners were marketed. Information
regarding the technology and implementation was unknown and moreover,
limited. The common house-owner can make several enquiries into the
installation of a pellet system but they were still left with inadequate
information. It took several public ‘pellets evenings’ hosted by companies to
finally disseminate the information. And although an increased use of wood
pellets has meant an increased production and hence increased employment,
the pellets market is not yet ready to operate independently. The pellets market
requires more promotion and integration, such as promoting its use in larger
scale commercial and public buildings (Hall, 2003).
The household solar project was an educational success and resulted in 11
companies in Jämtland selling and installing thermal solar energy products.
However, it failed one major technical target: the installed solar panel area had
increased by only 245m2, far from its 600m2 target. Despite the financial
support received from the Swedish Energy Agency, there was still a shortage of
institutional subsidy and private investment to lower the cost of panels. Like
the wood pellet market, the thermal solar energy market in the region was not
ready to stand on it own (Hall, 2004).
The reliance on forests as a primary source of biofuel presents a concern.
However, Jämtland in cooperation with the regional companies, municipalities
and organizations aims to overcome this by producing 0.2TWh from
agriculture in the country by 2015. At present, only 3 per cent of all farmland
in Sweden is used for energy crop cultivation. The same applies to Jämtland,
which has not been producing fuels from agricultural farming at all. The new
goal would entail farmers switching parts of their traditional production to
energy crop cultivation (Tyskling, 2008).
Jämtland demonstrates how municipal initiative, drive and commitment
aided the development of renewable energy in the county. It also shows how
critical public information and education was in improving awareness and
strengthening support, through the use of various kinds of marketing and
communication strategies. Although some technologies remain costly,
government policy has the ability to lessen market constraints and encourage
the use of local resources to cover local energy needs at more affordable
prices.
Jühnde, Germany
Figure 6.6 Jühnde as Germany’s first bioenergy village

Source: Wolfgang Beisert
Basic facts
The small farming community of Jühnde is the first village in Germany to
completely replace its fossil energy use for heating and electricity with
bioenergy. With a population of 800 people, the village is located in the
southern part of Lower Saxony, encompassing 1300 hectares of farmland and
800 hectares of forest. In 2005, the ‘Bioenergiedorf’ or Bioenergy Village was
awarded the European Solar Prize in recognition of its municipal services
(Eurosolar, 2005).
Jühnde’s renewable energy portfolio consists of a 712kW biogas co-
generation plant, a 550kW biomass heating station, two heat storage facilities,
boiler and a DH network connecting around 145 houses. Nine thousand cubic
metres of liquid manure from six animal farms (800 cows and 1400 pigs), 250
hectares of farmland (25 per cent of total farmland) and 350 tons a year of
wood chips from forests (10 per cent of annual growth) are processed to
produce bioenergy in Jühnde.
The biogas plant ferments only renewable raw materials in the form of
grasses, other agricultural by-products and liquid manure. Within the biogas
plant, organic matter is decomposed into methane by bacteria. The gas is then
burnt in a block heat plant where the heat is channelled into a bioenergy buffer
store. The biogas then fuels a block type power station, generating around 5
million kWh of electricity and 6.5 million kWh of heat energy each year. The
biomass plant ensures the heating needs of every household in the village all
year round. Around 12,000 tons of non-processed wood, woods with a
maximum moisture content of up to 60 per cent and wood chips (Federal
Ministry of Economics and Technology, 2008) is processed each year, supplied
by seven out of nine local farmers. Fermentation residue is recycled and reused
as fertilizer on agricultural cropland in accordance with agricultural
regulations (Eurosolar, 2005). The energy crop cultivation involves a double
cropping system. By rotating summer and winter cereals, the method helps
reduce the use of pesticides and avoid pests and diseases. This works to balance
the agricultural ecosystem, generate higher crop yields, ensure diversity and
minimal tilling (Ruwisch and Sauer, 2007).
The heat generated by the plants is transported as hot water into the
houses via a 5.5km underground network of pipeline. Connected to the circuit
of each individual house, the water is fed directly into the heating system. The
energy is transferred to the hot water system via a heat exchanger. The process
becomes more efficient and beneficial as an increasing number of houses are
connected. To date around 70 per cent of households have voluntarily signed
heat supply contracts. It costs €49 per MWh, with a €500 fixed annual charge
and a €1000 connection fee. Total costs are around €2000 a year (Ruwisch
and Sauer, 2007).
Each year the plants generate an income of approximately €1 million,
four-fifths from the excess electricity sold and a third from heat energy
production. By 2008, the village was producing more than 10 million kWh of
electricity, effectively saving 3300 tons of CO2 annually.

The Bioenergy Village began as a research project initiated by Göttingen and
Kassel University through the Interdisciplinary Centre for Sustainable
Development (IZNE) in 1998. It began with the search for regions with the
greatest potential for bioenergy operations – areas with an abundance of
biomass from plants and manure, and all forms of otherwise wasted biological
material, which could be processed into electrical power and heat. It took two
years after its conception before the research project received any financial
support.
Four villages were shortlisted following a survey of 3000 households
across 17 villages at specially conducted questionnaire workshops. Technical
and economic feasibility studies on the short-listed four determined the final
selection (Ruwisch and Sauer, 2007). In 2001, Jühnde was chosen as the pilot.
It already possessed a large number of farms and 70 per cent of its 200
households were already connected to the hot water grid, the conversion to
distributed heating from bioenergy sources would mean immediate CO2
savings (Bioenergiedorf, 2005).
The planning process with Jühnde began with eight committees

encompassing the operating company, biogas plant, energy crop cultivation,
biomass conservation, housing technique, central heating plant, heat grid and
public relations, overseen by a central planning group consisting of the
municipal council, district council, club and associations representatives,
church council, university group and other planning groups. When asked what
type of operating company the villagers of Jühnde preferred, they unanimously
voted for a cooperative. A minimum €1500 investment was then set for all
participating households. To date there are 195 resident members and 39 non-
resident members (Ruwisch and Sauer, 2007).
In 2005, Jühnde’s bioenergy scheme was officially launched following
more than four years of preparation. The biomass plant went into service first,
following further extensions to the hot water network. The biogas installation
went on stream next and by late that year, the village started feeding electricity
into the public grid.
The total cost of the project was approximately €5 million. Raised mainly
by public funds, 54 per cent came from the German Ministry of Food
Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) and the German Agency of
Renewable Resources (FNR) and 26 per cent from state and municipal
governments. The remainder was covered by private equity in the form of
cooperative shares valued at €0.5 million and bank credits totalling €3.4
million. It is estimated that the biogas facility and co-generation generator cost
€2.9 million, heating system €0.9 million and the hot water pipeline €1.6
million. The operating contractor and specialists were required to limit any
cost over-run, while maintaining quality practice in planning and
implementation (Ruwisch and Sauer, 2007).
Lessons learnt
The first big challenge for the project was to encourage people to disconnect
themselves from conventional fossil fuel suppliers and to join the bioenergy
system (Ruwisch and Sauer, 2007). This was managed by coordinating
planning workshops to educate village groups and to rally their support. The
meetings made certain the goals of local residents were incorporated into the
project and the right balance was achieved between local knowledge and
external guidance. The enthusiasm shown by the village mayor, who was
actively involved in promoting the projects, also convinced many residents to
sign up (Heiskanen et al, 2007).
The next challenge was the implementation process. There were many
delays and steep transaction costs in obtaining planning permissions and
construction permits. Frequent revisions of the statutory local plan caused
further complications. The biogas plant for instance, took five years from
concept to final operations (Binns et al, 2007).
Another challenge was the new role of citizens as energy producers and/or
suppliers. Jühnde citizens and energy users had to adapt to being actively
involved in the production of renewable energy. This required a period of

learning and readjustment as well as some economic and social restructuring
within the village (Heiskanen et al, 2007).
The cooperative concept runs on the premise of ecology, economy and
social structure as the basis for replacing fossil fuels with locally generated
bioenergy. The concept has ensured collective decision-making for the benefit
of the entire community, shared responsibility and ultimately shared profits. As
a group, the villagers were able to restructure their energy supply and involve
themselves in the entire process from planning and management to production
and distribution. They agreed that annual costs should not be higher than the
costs of a heating system based on fuel oil and insisted that existing and future
supplies should be based only on locally grown resources. Fixed prices for
energy crops would stabilize long-term agricultural income. Increased output
would enable farmers to find new markets for their produce. As a minimum
the farmers should earn the amount of money comparable to wheat production
(Ruwisch and Sauer, 2007). The selling of wood chips from weak or waste
wood, for example, should support local forestry.
For most villagers of Jühnde, communal achievements have been fun
(Bioenergiedorf, 2005). The new owner-customers are reportedly very happy
because heat produced from bioenergy actually costs less than standard oil
fuels. According to the head of the local cooperative behind the plant, Eckhard
Fangmeier, the profits alone have been sufficient to run the biogas co-
generation plant (Deutsches Generalkonsulat Melbourne, 2005), The projects
keep money in the region and have helped improve local knowledge of project
management and technical expertise. New jobs have been created through the
facilities’ planning and construction phases, with more envisaged in the future
for operations and maintenance work. Many existing jobs in agricultural and
forestry have also been successfully retained (Bioenergiedorf, 2005).
As initiator of the Bioenergy Village model, the IZNE university project
group was critical in defining the concept and ensuring the smooth transition
to renewable energy sources. It supervised the entire process, conducted
progress assessments and motivated community members to become part of
the process. The experience with Jühnde has enabled the university team to
support other localities with their efforts to utilize renewable energy sources
(Bioenergiedorf, 2005).
Jühnde is planning further research into the optimization of its renewable
energy processing. A first-trial photovoltaic system is envisaged alongside the
establishment of a centre for new energy where people can come and learn.
The local authority is consistently looking for partners who would like to use
the village as a marketing tool for implementing renewable technologies
(Fangmeier, 2008).
The population of Jühnde has increased considerably since becoming a
bioenergy village. Some first-time visitors have become new residents, attracted
by the idea of becoming part of an energy self-sustaining community. The
success of Jühnde has helped refute criticisms directed at pilot projects as
irrelevant or a mere curiosity. In fact, it has now inspired over 30 villages in

the region to achieve their own energy independence. The daily visits from
visitors and farmers from neighbouring villages attest to this.
Mureck, Austria
Figure 6.7 The production of biodiesel by rapeseed in Mureck

Source: Greenfleet
Basic facts
Mureck is a small rural municipality in the district of Radkersburg in southern
Austria at the border with Slovenia. Its 1700 residents inhabit an area of just
5km2. In recent years, Mureck has become a leading model in regional energy
self-sufficiency. Its self-sustaining biomass system is one of Europe’s first to
export surplus energy worldwide (Eurosolar, 2006).
In 2001, its bioenergy cooperative South Styria Cooperative for Energy
and Protein Production (SEEG) Mureck won first prize at the World Energy
Globe Award for supplying biofuels to the city of Mureck and the wider
region. Its achievements gained further recognition with the awarding of the
European Solar Prize in 2006. To mark the 20th anniversary of bioenergy in
the region, Mureck introduced its sustainable model to the world at the ‘First
International Climate-Protection-Event’ (SEEG, 2007).
Mureck’s bioenergy system is the result of the collaboration between SEEG

Mureck, Nahwärme Mureck, and Ökostrom Mureck. The three companies
form the ‘Mureck Energy Circle’ or Bioenergy Mureck. SEEG Mureck is an
agricultural cooperative belonging to 530 farmer-members predominantly
from South Styria, and 70 local authorities. It produces 10 per cent biodiesel
from rapeseed and 90 per cent biodiesel from used cooking oil. Farmers
cultivate and supply rapeseed to SEEG Mureck for biodiesel production. The
farmers later receive biodiesel and rapeseed cake as a high protein feed for
livestock. The cooking oil used to produce biodiesel is collected from a
cooperative of households and companies. The biodiesel is then returned to the
cooperative for use in private vehicles, public buses, freight forwarders,
hauliers and petrol stations (SEEG, 2007).
The biomass plant and the co-generation (CHP) plant supply heat to the
DH system and are both operated by Nahwärme Mureck. The CHP plant also
supplies ‘green’ electricity. Owned by SEEG Mureck and two farmers, 7.5MW
is supplied to around 250 customers, representing 85 per cent of the total
heating requirements in Mureck. Approximately 40 per cent of the wood chips
used are sourced from 23 farmers and the remainder obtained from sawmills.
The cost of electricity generated per household is estimated around €90
including taxes for 1000kWh (SEEG, 2007).
Ökostrom Mureck belongs to Nahwärme Mureck and seven other
farmers. Its biogas plant produces 1000kW of electricity by using liquid
manure, raw plant materials, maize, silage and glycerine from the biodiesel
production. The raw material is harvested within a radius of 6km, collected
and fermented in the biogas unit to produce biogas, which is then converted
into electricity or heating. An estimated 300 hectares is used for raw materials,
with 500 hectares for spreading the biofertilizer produced. It also uses waste
heat from Nahwärme’s biomass and co-generation plants, so there is no heat
loss. The power generated is fed back into the public grid (SEEG, 2007).

The switch to bioenergy was conceived by three friends, August Jost,
Ferdinand Potzinger and Karl Totter, in a pub in the winter of 1985. The
municipality was facing economic problems in agriculture in relation to
surpluses in crop production (McCormick and Kåberger, 2007). It was Totter,
the present cooperative chairman, who proposed that farmers produce their
own source of fuel for use on their property. His farming experience in Austria
in the 1950s showed that energy crops could be grown and used again on the
same farm (EFFP, 2004). Totter suggested that Mureck should grow rapeseed
as the raw material for producing biodiesel and return to crop rotation
methods of traditional farming (SEEG, 2007).
From 1987 to 1989, the group began supervising trials at the agricultural
college in Silberberg near Leibnitz. SEEG Mureck was founded in 1989 after a
year’s planning, its biodiesel plant opening in 1991. In 1993, the collection and
recycling of used cooking oil commenced, with a specially designed container

called ‘Fetty’ set up for household collections, jointly introduced by the local
authorities and waste management associations. Companies and restaurants
had to use special containers at fixed sites. Over the next decade, biodiesel
production expanded from 0.5 million litres in 1994 to 10 million litres in
2005, which by this time coincided with the opening of the biodiesel filling
station. In 1998, Nahwärme Mureck was founded, inaugurating its new
biomass plant after two years of preparations. By 2004, Nahwärme’s heating
network had expanded to cover 200 buildings, reaching a length of 12.5km.
Construction on Ökostrom Mureck’s biogas plant began in 2004 and opened
a year later.
The development of bioenergy in Mureck required substantial funds due to
a web of several interconnecting systems. Most of the developments were
instigated locally without the aid of a major investor or powerful energy utility.
The biodiesel plant in particular was funded from a range of sources. Half of
the start-up costs were covered by the Austrian National Investment Fund,
with the remaining financed by the members in the form of cooperative shares
and external funding received from other agencies and sponsors. The rest of
the projects were funded by the EU (EFFP, 2004).
Funding was essential for any of the projects to succeed because of the high
upfront costs. The companies have since received between 30 and 75 per cent
of the investment costs (McCormick and Kåberger, 2007). Mureck received
around €22–26 million, €9.4 million for SEEG, €7.2 million for Nahwärme,
€5.6 for Ökostrom, of which up to €1.4 million came from suppliers in
Austria and €5–8 million from investments in the supply chain (SEEG, 2007).
Support also came in form of access to experts and international research.
Lessons learnt
There have been a few setbacks but none too critical to result in failure.
Biodiesel production, for instance, received a lot of opposition from the motor
and oil industries. Biodiesel was seen not to work as well as standard fuels.
There was very low demand for biofuels and delays in production caused by
the low price of fossil fuels. As a non-traditional crop, the introduction of
rapeseed also posed new challenges for local farmers.
With regards to used cooking oil as biofuel, availability was very low
particularly in the early stages. It took a dioxin scandal in 2000, which banned
the use of used cooking oil and fat in animal fodder in Austria, to redirect the
flow of used oil towards biofuel production (EFFP, 2004). The potential for
cooking oil was also limited by people’s average consumption of cooking oil,
which was about 3kg per person per year. It was estimated that a catchment
radius of 200km is required to be cost-effective (SEEG, 2007)
The large tracts of land required for rapeseed cultivation is a concern for
local residents due to the dangers of monoculture. But according to Bioenergy
Mureck, it has plans for rotating rapeseed with Sudan grass. A pilot project is
researching ways of using complete plants for biofuel that will enable three to
four times the amount of liquid biofuel obtained per hectare compared to
biodiesel from rapeseed oil (SEEG, 2007).
Rapeseed grown in rotation with other crops in the same area has enabled
farmers to keep their fields under continuous production. This rotational
method has improved soil structure, prevented erosion, added nutrients to the
soils and provided relief to underground water. Weed, disease and insect
problems that occur when one species is continuously cropped have also been
avoided, so reducing the use and cost of artificial fertilizers (Wikipedia,
2008c).
Converting rapeseed oil into biodiesel does, however, require methanol
and energy. Mureck has plans to replace the fossil methanol with methanol
made from sustainable sources. The high cost of conversion for vehicles to run
on pure vegetable oil (€3000–4000) will lessen with new technology and
ubiquity, meeting current conversion costs for standard diesel engines running
on biodiesel. The use of pure vegetable oil as biofuel in local farms will also
finally take place as costs for third-party drying, storage and handling come on
par with the cheaper regional biodiesel system.
The biogas driven co-generation plant in Mureck produces heat and power
all year round. However, low heating energy demand in summer has meant
that the energy produced during the season is not fully utilized. To use this
excess energy, a differential cooling system will be installed via the Nahwärme
(close-proximity or neighbourhood heating) flow pipe at 80–90ºC, to supply
thermal cooling produced by absorption chiller, to retail and commercial
establishments as well as detached houses. It will help cool buildings that
cannot depend on structural improvements to meet their cooling demands
(Beham, 2008).
Bioenergy Mureck is characterized by self-initiative, individual
responsibility and close partnerships. It relies on the cooperation of the leading
actors as well as good supply-chain coordination to maintain its success
(Hametner, 2006). The large constellation of companies and local groups
working with the three companies ensures fair representation of local and
regional concerns, mix of ownership types and shared accountability that
avoids a top-down corporate structure. Majority ownership in the hands of a
few was undesirable, particularly when farmers represented only 4 per cent of
the population but were the predominant owners (SEEG, 2007).
The systematic integration of all parties in the planning process from the
beginning helped quell local misconceptions and instil an understanding of the
process. Public information meetings were very important. The local heating
scheme for instance, had an immediate take-up of 50 per cent, despite the
additional 25 per cent costs of conversion over conventional oil-fired heating
systems. As an ongoing service, a customer care hotline was set up as a key link
to public energy demands (SEEG, 2007).
Pilot projects were critical in capacity building. Bioenergie Mureck worked
with various regional and national bioenergy organizations in Austria to
improve its knowledge of bioenergy and share its development experience with
them. Among them were the Biomass Association, Energy Association of
Styria, Eco-Energy Styria and the universities in Graz. BDI Biodiesel
International provided information on biodiesel plant implementation and the
cooking oil project received support from waste disposal groups, local councils
and restaurants. Partnerships with neighbouring countries such as Slovenia,
Germany and Hungary have helped establish new markets for the biodiesel
(Hametner, 2006). Mureck has also exported energy to some countries in Asia.
Mureck’s bioenergy system has meant energy security, added value and an
increase in local jobs. During times of crisis, the municipality can now rely on
a secure and more affordable energy supply, which in turn, ensures social
stability. By 2006, the annual heating costs for a detached house were €750
less than one equipped with a conventional oil heating, based on an oil price
of €0.65 per litre. Today both biodiesel and local heating are far cheaper in
Mureck than fossil fuels such as heating oil or diesel (SEEG, 2007).
Bioenergy Mureck is a ‘self-sufficient energy loop that can work separately
from a conventional supply of energy, an all-round business cycle based on
regional energy’ (SEEG, 2007). Mureck’s bionergy system has created not only
new jobs associated with the energy plants such as electricians, machine fitters
and joiners for carrying out operational and maintenance work; but it has also
maintained existing jobs such as farmers and labourers through production
and supply of raw materials on surrounding farms (SEEG, 2007).
According to SEEG Mureck, the town saves 45,000 tons of CO2 and
reduces significant amounts of waste each year. Convenient local heating
replacing domestic fires has helped reduce emissions. There are lower
emissions from biodiesel compared with fossil diesel in terms of soot, sulfurous
oxide and fine particles, though there are some nitrous oxide emissions from
engines under some conditions (SEEG, 2007). The biogas plant is fully
automated and generates no dust, odour or noise. Separating waste and using
mineral oil separator has become mandatory. Biofilters are used to reduce
unpleasant smells from the biogas unit and dust filter units are incorporated to
reduce dust emissions from the biomass cauldrons. Despite the high cost,
textile filter units have been quite effective.
SEEG safeguards the environment by regularly monitoring emissions and
compliance with statutory requirements, especially with regard to waste
disposal. The SEEG collection system has prevented an estimated 9000 tonnes
of used cooking oil from entering the local sewerage system each year, thus
protecting the sewerage system and wastewater treatment plants from damage
and further expense. According to one study, it costs €0.44 per litre of oil for
the upkeep of treatment plants if used oil is poured down the drain (SEEG,
2007).
Bioenergie Mureck takes part in events that promote its goals to the public
and industry. Press releases, conference participation and its own website help
explain the environmental benefits to a wider audience (EFFP, 2004). Open
days provide opportunities for direct discussions with local officials and
experts, and ensure good public rapport and public education (Hametner,
2006).
Bioenergie Mureck has significantly promoted tourism in the region.
Around 6000 visitors come to see the energy plants each year. In 2001, a
visitor’s centre ‘Energieschauplatz Mureck’ on the eastern Styria’s Energy
Display Road shows visitors how the ‘energy cycle’ works. The energy concept
is also linked to the region’s restaurants and local providers of specialities, with
joint activities and campaigns regularly staged. There are plans to open an
international information, consultation and training centre for renewable
energies and industrial raw materials targeting primary, secondary and tertiary
schools (SEEG, 2007).
In 2001, a bioenergy beacon was built as a visible symbol of Bioenergie
Mureck’s four key principles: nature, energy, region and peace, inaugurated on
the occasion of the ‘Romlauf’. Created by the vocational school in Mureck, the
beacon is lit with a fire fuelled by biodiesel provided by SEEG Mureck. As the
world’s largest lantern, the town’s landmark strongly signals the local
authority’s commitment to the environment, local community and industry.
Mureck local authority has put in place social and economic guidelines in
relation to its bioenergy system. Developments must enhance the quality of life
for residents, increase the awareness of the region’s sustainable cycles,
maintain joint setting and implementation of activities, and create jobs, giving
people further reason to stay in the region. Maintaining relationships with
associations and companies such as schools and the fire brigade and organizing
festivals such as the bioenergy festival, biodiesel day and bioenergy beacon
have ensured ongoing awareness (SEEG, 2007).
The development of renewable energy in Mureck would not have been
possible without local initiative, institutional support, technological know-
how and most importantly natural resources. The production of local energy
demonstrates how far-reaching the benefits can be, ranging from affordable
heating and electricity and increased local income and productivity to
improvements in land and air quality and an enhanced sense of local pride and
ownership. It demonstrates how private companies in collaboration with
municipalities can create socially cohesive, ‘greener’ environments, while
maintaining profits for all.
Navarre, Spain
Basic facts
The region of Navarre is located in north-eastern Spain, between the Basque
country and the French border. It consists of 272 municipal areas spread over
10,391km2, equivalent to 2 per cent of Spain’s total landmass. With a
population of just over 600,000 people, it is the least populated of Spain’s
autonomous regions. Pamplona is the regional capital city.
In 2003, Navarre was praised as having the best regional policy in Europe
at the European Conference for Renewable Energy in Berlin. In 2007, a local
Figure 6.8 The National Center of Renewable Energy, Pamplona, Navarre

Source: Oikema
company, Acciona Solar, was awarded the European Solar Prize by the
European Association for Renewable Energy (Eurosolar 2007) for its
contribution to the development and promotion of solar plants. Today
Navarre leads Spain in renewable energy technology and is recognized
worldwide for its scientific research and technical capacity.
Navarre’s small hydro plants– those with a capacity below 10MW – have
been in operation since the end of the 19th century. Today it is no longer a
major power source and the potential for new hydro is limited as most
riverbeds are well used (Aicher, 2005). To date there are around 111 small
hydropower plants in Navarre with a total installed capacity of 195MW,
representing 10 per cent of Navarre’s energy consumption. El Berbel is
Navarre’s only large hydroelectric installation generating 18MW.
Navarre’s greatest source of energy comes from wind farms. Latest reports
account for 32 windparks across 16 locations with 1164 turbines and a total
installed capacity of 936MW (Fairless, 2007). Spain’s national broadcaster
TVE reported that on 19 March 2007, wind power in Spain for the first time
exceeded nuclear and coal power’s contribution to the power grid. Wind
power contributed 8375MW, while nuclear power and coal added 6797 MW
and 5081 MW respectively (AP Digital, 2007).
There are around 32 co-generation installations generating a total of
118MW fed by forestry biomass and black liquor. Black liquor is a recycled by-
product formed during the pulping of wood in the papermaking industry.
Burnt in boilers to produce steam and electricity, the process is effective in
recovering inorganic chemicals for recycling. In the town of Sangüesa, a
25MW biomass plant generates enough electricity from 160,000 tons of straw
waste to power over 50,000 households, avoiding carbon emissions of
196,000 tons per year. At a cost of €51.9 million, the plant is the only one of
its type in Spain (Siehr, 2007). Waste products such as ash are reused as
fertilizer.
In Caparroso, a biodiesel plant produces 80 million litres of fuel a year
from crude and refined vegetable oils such as rapeseed, sunflower, soya or
palm. The €25 million plant was the first in the world equipped to process
such a variety of vegetable oils (Gobierno de Navarre, 2006). The fuel is sold
to oil companies, freight companies and public transport, and two petrol
stations in Navarre that sell 100 per cent pure biodiesel. It is envisaged that the
entire city bus fleet in Pamplona will operate with 100 per cent biodiesel,
prominently marked with special labels as ecological vehicles. The biodiesel
producer has assured the local authority that it will put a cap on fuel cost
increases, hence protecting public transport users from price hikes due to the
switch to biodiesel (Acciona Energía, 2007).
Navarre’s biomethanization plant treats 50,000 tons of urban waste and
produces 6,000 tonnes of compost each year. The €9.6 million facility
processes the waste to harness methane gas for the generation of electricity.
Linked to the solid urban waste plant and wastewater treatment, the system
effectively reduces waste sent to landfills.
Recent estimates account for over 600 individual solar photovoltaic
facilities working off-grid belonging to private owners. They are used for a
range of applications such as lighting, pumping and so forth. Those that are
connected to the grid make up the 18 so-called ‘solar gardens’ spread across
Navarre, generating a total 61.5MW and involving more than 3500 people, all
at a cost of €456 million worth of investments. A concept created and
patented by Spanish company, Acciona Solar, the huertas solares® or solar
gardens cluster individually-owned photovoltaic installations on a single site
(Acciona Energía, 2007).
Navarre’s first solar garden was the €12 million installation in Tudela,
consisting of 400 solar trackers over 60,000 square metres of land. The
1.2MW garden is divided into two separate zones for energy generation and
technology experimentation. Tudela is also earmarked as the site of Spain’s
first ‘zero-emissions’ community, balancing energy supply and demand
through intelligent energy systems. The eco-city will consist of 70,000 new
homes powered exclusively by wind energy and photovoltaics and heated via
the use of passive solar techniques, solar collectors and geothermal. The
masterplan features bioclimatic architecture as part of its energy efficiency

regime (ECO-City, 2009).
In contrast, the 9.55MW Monte Alto Solar Garden in Milagro, south of
Pamplona, is the largest garden and generates 14 million kWh a year from 889
automated solar trackers installed over 51 hectares of disused agricultural fields.
Owned by more than 750 public and private investors from across Spain, the
electricity produced can feed 5000 homes. The solar tracker consists of crystal
silicon panels mounted on a structure of 50m2 in the form of a grille. The
structure is programmed to follow the sun from east to west, depending on the
different position of the sun every day of the year, turning on a specified angle to
optimize the capture of the sun’s rays, which are then transformed into electric
power by the photovoltaic cells in the solar panels (Technology Review, 2007).
The headquarters of Acciona on the outskirts of Pamplona is Navarre’s
first zero-emissions building. All of its energy needs rely exclusively on on-site
PV panels, solar water heating, a geothermal system for air conditioning and a
small amount of biodiesel. Its architecture aims to reduce energy demand, as
displayed in the building’s compact shape, use of facade cladding that helps
ventilate and shade, and installation of intelligent internal climate control
systems. With an energy consumption representing only half of a typical
building, the payback period is an estimated ten years (Acciona Energía, 2008).

The move towards a comprehensive renewable energy network began in 1989,
when Estaban Morrás and two friends founded the Corporación Energía
Hidroeléctrica de Navarre (EHN). Their goal was to buy up existing mini-
hydrostations, connect them to the grid and build more. However, sites for
new hydro were increasingly hard to find. They realized that they could not
rely on a single source of energy. Earlier that year, Morrás visited a wind farm
in Montpellier, France and discovered that a single turbine could generate as
much energy as a couple of small hydro stations. Thus inspired, he approached
leading turbine supplier in Denmark, Vestas, to see how he could build his own
wind farm in Navarre.
For financial support, EHN turned to the regional government with a wind
power development plan. It was not difficult to persuade the government
because the plan meant a new industry for the region. While there were
obvious environmental benefits, these were not decisive factors. Navarre at the
time was heavily reliant on its only industrial employer, a Volkswagen car
plant. The region’s infrastructure was weak and had limited local power
sources, features not appealing to outside investors (Fairless, 2007).
The government began with assessments of the region’s wind energy
potential. By late 1994, the first windpark was built on the El Perdón
mountain range near Pamplona with six 500kW wind turbines. The site had
very good wind conditions but was also close enough to be seen from
Navarre’s largest urban area to ensure a favourable introduction. With the aid
of public and private capital, Danish wind technology and further

technological developments done locally, Navarre’s companies began
manufacturing wind turbines of even greater power capacity.
Gamesa Eólica was set up by Sodena, the government’s main instrument
for local business development and investment, to supply wind turbines to
EHN, who by then had become Sodena’s leading industrial partner. In early
1996, an Energy Plan was approved by the government of Navarre, which set
energy production targets and a regulatory framework for the implementation
of wind farms (Ichaso, 2000). In 1997, EHN in partnership with a few local
companies formed AESOL to explore the potential for solar energy in the
region. AESOL was later sold to Acciona to form Acciona Solar.
In 2000, construction began on the Sangüesa biomass plant as part of the
European Thermie Programme and the Spanish Energy Saving and Efficiency
Plan and connected to the grid two years later. The Center of Environmental
Resources of Navarre was founded by this time to raise public awareness
about energy efficiency. In 2002, the Tudela photovoltaic solar energy plant
was opened, joining around 1000 photovoltaic installations already connected
to the grid. In the same year, Acciona, a major construction and engineering
company in Spain, took over EHN.
By 2003, Navarre had more than 88 companies active in various aspects
of renewable energy. Two of EHN’s previous partners, Iberdrola and Portland,
had by this time pulled out because they wanted to continue operating
conventional and nuclear power stations, while EHN wanted to exclusively
develop renewable energy sources (Korneffel, 2005). In 2004, approvals for
new wind farms had ceased. The visual impact on the landscape had become
an issue as the government recognized that any further development might lose
its public support. In early 2005, the Caparroso biodiesel plant was opened.
By 2006 the Tudela biogas plant and 341 solar thermal facilities were
already established. In the following year, the national government began
lowering subsidies for wind operators and boosted subsidies for biomass,
biofuels and solar photovoltaics (Fairless, 2007). By this time, the Monte Alto
solar field in Milagro was connected to the grid and 31 co-generation
installations were operating.
From 1995 to 2004, the government of Navarre invested more than €136
million in renewable energy projects, contributing up to 30 per cent of the
initial funding and providing tax credits for investors (Fairless, 2007). In 2006
it granted €195.74 million in tax credits for photovoltaic installations alone,
with plans for a further €906.77 million in new photovoltaic production over
the following years (Gobierno de Navarre, 2007). Private developers also
contributed a high level of investment in the launch stages.
Lessons learnt
Navarre’s green power plants posed some technical and logistical challenges.
The wind turbines for instance, despite large installed capacities, actually
generated much less energy due to intermittent wind conditions and

maintenance downtime (Fairless, 2007). The retrofit of aging turbines however
has helped optimize their effectiveness, avoiding fluctuations on grid due to
dips in voltage and thus avoiding the need for new wind farms.
Another technical challenge for Navarre was the region’s grid capacity,
which has not been able to keep up with increasing energy output (Urien,
2007). Existing grids of 400kV and 220kV are today incapable of distributing
the increasing supplies, particularly from wind farms. Grid improvements that
guarantee supply and reduce the need for further capital are critical.
While the issue of spare capacity has been partially solved by the
installation of biomass and biogas plants, these too have presented difficulties.
Burning straw for fuel is difficult due to their high content of chloride and
alkaline elements – the result of pesticides and fertilizers used during the
growing process. The chemicals produce harmful air pollutants when burnt,
corroding the surface of boilers and forming dioxins. On the logistics side,
long-term contracts with farmers and cooperatives have been insufficient to
guarantee supply and handling of cereal material.
Environmental activists from a local group called Gurelur (’our Land’ in
the Basque language) fear that there are too many wind turbines and they are
not being put in the right place. According to the regional government, wind
farms are subject to environmental studies with changes applied to designs
before they are authorized. Assessments must be made on the impact of the
turbines on bird life (Aicher, 2005). Stringent authorization procedures also
regulate the number of wind farms constructed by ruling that new installations
should only focus on experimental or self-sustaining systems (Ichaso, 2000).
Future windparks must exclude sites of significant natural value and introduce
re-vegetation projects for areas affected by building.
Despite its small area, Navarre has become a perfect site to evaluate entire
renewable energy systems. Different kinds of solar panels have been tested in
relation to such effects as shadows and fog (Technology Review, 2007). The
region’s growing research and training capacity, especially in cooperation with
two local universities, has instilled a sense of reliability and integrity to the
network. The National Renewables Centre (CENER) in Navarre is continuing
research into the development of commercial applications in wind, solar,
bioenergy and bioclimatic architecture, while the Integrated National Center
for Training in Renewables (CENIFER) provides assistance in form of
occupational training and courses for companies and professionals (Fairless,
2007).
Today a number of companies based in Navarre are leaders in windpark
development (Acciona Energía, Eólica Navarra-Grupo Enhol, Gamesa Energía
and Iberdrola) and in wind turbine and components manufacture (Acciona
Wind-power, Ecotecnia, Gamesa Eólica, Ingeteam and M. Torres). Five
thousand new jobs have been created, with over 3000 jobs linked to the wind
sector. It is estimated that another 5000 positions in the renewable energy
managerial sector will be created by 2010 (Gobierno de Navarre, 2007).
The Navarre energy plan promotes energy efficiency throughout the region
through conferences, training courses, energy saving guides and competitions.
Public input for various projects was always sought, such as the plan to reduce
energy demands in heating and cooling in buildings by installing new
insulation, or the plan to reduce electricity consumption in households by
replacing old appliances such as freezers and dishwashers with higher energy
rated appliances. The latter has resulted in the replacement of more than 8000
obsolete electronic appliances (Salazar, 2008).
The grouping of installations in solar gardens has reduced costs and
increased efficiency. There is greater security by being centrally controlled. It
allows for techniques such as solar tracking, usually not feasible in
independent systems. It also ensures dependable grid connections, sequential
components manufacture and the development of software in energy
monitoring. Production can be tracked remotely – owners can check their
daily, monthly or annual production via the internet (Acciona Energía, 2008).
The model has enabled a larger cross-section of society to invest in solar
energy. Previously opportunities to invest in the technology were limited
because most Spaniards lived in apartment buildings and shared rooftops. At
the Monte Alto Solar Field, an individual panel costs €47,000 but government
aid, tax breaks and remuneration for photovoltaic solar energy have helped
ease the burden. Shared infrastructure coupled with centralized control of
financing, collection of FiTs and facilities management have ensured a zero
effect on net income gained as profit for investors (Du Bois, 2007).
The long waiting list of potential investors demonstrates the success of the
solar garden concept. As an economic model, the cooperative installations
have helped share costs and profits, virtually guaranteeing incomes. Some
locals have re-badged the scheme as their ‘solar pension fund’. Profits earned
off the solar panels they bought today will serve as their retirement income
tomorrow (Lungescu, 2007).
The introduction of renewable energy has revitalized many old villages in
Navarre. Before the windparks, the villages of Iratxeta and Leoz had only 150
residents. Public services were also very limited. Today the population of both
villages has almost double. There is running water, waste collection, new
buildings and an influx of new investment thanks to the rent earned from the
wind farm operators (Fairless, 2007).
Institutions from several countries have visited Navarre to learn about the
region’s renewable energy development. Among them were political
representatives from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Australia and different
regional institutions from Ireland, Romania and Slovakia. A few developing
countries are cooperating with the Navarre’s government for technical and
legal assistance in developing their own renewable energy plans, such as the
Dominican Republic with the preparation of its Wind Energy Plan.
The initiative of private enterprise coupled with strong political
commitment from the Government of Navarre have been key in the region’s
success with renewables. The policies articulated in the government’s energy
plan made possible close partnerships between regional government, private

companies and financial institutions. The vertical product structure, from
project development and component manufacture through to construction and
management, ensured systematic infrastructural support. Navarre shows that
local energy supply does not depend on geographic size but on a clever mix of
technologies that best harness climatic and landscape conditions. Cooperative
ownership has enabled entire populations to actively engage in the production
of local energy and improve livelihoods.
Shaanxi Province, China
Figure 6.9 Xu Wenjian, Party Secretary, Miao Zuigou Village, Zou Yuan town, near Yan’an,
with his biogas light and stove
Source: Ashden Awards/ Martin Wright
Basic facts
Shaanxi is a land-locked province located in central, northern China. Set in a
mountainous region, the province is renowned for its natural beauty and
historical significance. Xi’an is the administrative capital and the Yellow River
its main waterway.
In 2006, a group of women from the region called the Shaanxi Mothers
Association won second prize in the International Award for Sustainable
Energy. Their achievement was the installation of almost 1500 biogas plants in
farming households across the Shaanxi Province. Thanks to the strong
leadership of the group’s founder Mrs Wang Ming Ying, the biogas scheme has
set forth an energy revolution, transforming countless farms into mini self-
sustaining units.

The Shaanxi Mother’s Environmental Protection Volunteer Association was
founded in 1997 with the aim of replanting on the hillsides of surrounding
villages. Deforestation (wood was widely used as fuel for cooking) and over-
ploughing had caused severe soil erosion resulting in desertification, frequent
dust storms and weak springtime river flows. The air quality in the region was
poor and the waterways were polluted by animal waste. Living standards were
deteriorating with the rise in the cost of food and energy. Recognizing the
problem, the local government began restricting tree felling and ordered that
hillsides be reforested. Farmers were paid to plant trees and to maintain them.
However, the Shaanxi Mothers believed in order to protect the remaining trees
as well as reduce poverty, it was essential that an alternative source of energy
also be found (Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, 2008).
Most households in Shaanxi Province owned pigs and were encouraged by
the government to keep them. The local authority offered them one free pig for
every pig they bought, with a maximum of two donated pigs per household.
The animals produced refuse that leaches into streams causing groundwater
pollution. But they also generated a substantial amount of methane gas, which
was a valuable source of energy. This resulted in the idea for individually
operated biogas systems for rural households. The scheme would be based on
a ‘4-in-1’ system, whereby animal, agricultural and human refuse is collected
in a digester to generate methane for electricity or as fuel for cooking and
heating. The slurry by-product from the methanization process is used as liquid
fertilizer spread by farmers over fields or in greenhouses.
To launch the scheme, the Shaanxi Mother’s first established contact and
gathered support from local agencies and experts in the fields of farming,
veterinary science, energy and technology. They held meetings with interested
households and village representatives to determine which families could
participate and be trained. With the help of technology and agricultural
experts, workshops were then organized to educate village volunteers. The
programme taught them about the environment and health, the food chain,
renewable energy, waste collection, pigsty and toilet retrofit, pipe laying to
transmit methane gas, equipment operation, maintenance and repair as well as
recovering residue for fertilizers and organic farming (FOE, 2008).
The Shaanxi Mothers promoted solar heaters for water heating and
bathing in addition to retrofitting toilets, hence adding value to the overall
energy system. Families were also taught how to harvest rainwater. Capacity
building workshops were structured so women and their children could attend
them together, helping to boost women’s self-confidence and encouraging

mother–child bonding. In general, villages were involved in the entire process
from initial plant assessments to commissioning. Everyone was encouraged to
contribute ideas and participate in the decision-making.
Household production of biogas required the installation of a biogas
system alongside the retrofitting of the pigsty, latrine and a few household
appliances. A biogas digester is first built in a large pit, generally dug by a
technician with the assistance from a member of the household. Built from
bricks and mortar, this underground cylindrical tank is capped with a concrete
dome. Over the digester, the pigsty is built immediately adjacent to the toilet
of the house, so pig and human waste can flow directly into the digester. In
conditions devoid of oxygen, bacteria begin to digest the slurry. Warm water is
added to ensure flow and evenness in solid concentrations. Cow dung is
sometimes added for optimal results because it contains the right bacteria. The
biogas units are assessed and inspected upon installation. At the end of each
year, the units are cleaned and repaired at the same time that gas production
drops for two months or so due to the cold winter. Pigsties are meanwhile kept
insulated to keep pigs and the biogas digester warm (Wheldon, 2006).
Each biogas system costs around RMB3000–4000 ($400–500)
(CunCaoXin, 2008a). Users pay about a third of the cost of the plant, while
the remainder is financed by subsidies from the local government and the
Shaanxi Mother’s. The savings made on fuel and fertilizer within one to two
years helps households recover costs. It is estimated that one biogas plant saves
RMB600 ($88) per year for coal or wood, RMB250–400 ($37–59) per year for
fertilizer and RMB150 ($22) per year for electricity. Combined with the
resultant increase in food production due to the residue fertilizer, household
incomes can increase by RMB2000 ($293) each year, hence the biogas plant
pays for itself within at least a year (Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy,
2008). Biogas units can last for at least 15 years if there are regularly
maintained and used with care.
With an average size of 8–10 cubic metres, a biogas unit produces 380–450
cubic meters of methane gas as daily fuel for an average family of three to five
persons for 10–12 months. This amount of fuel is equivalent to 2000 square
metres of firewood, RMB600 ($88) worth of reforestation spending, and
200kWh of electricity per household. It also saves on RMB298 ($44) per
1000kg of coal in transport costs (CunCaoXin, 2008a). The biogas is piped
into the house with connections to a stove, a lamp or a water heater (Wheldon,
2006).
The installation of units began in 1999 when seven village biogas units
were installed in Baota, Yan’an, one of the provincial centres of Shaanxi. By
2001, 153 biogas plants were installed across five villages and within the
following four years, another 984 installations were completed in 14 villages.
In 2005, Shaanxi’s village biogas scheme was renamed the ‘Sunflower Project’
to help publicize and gain international funding for the work of the Shaanxi
Mother’s Association. The rebranding occurred with the help of Friends of the
Earth, an environmental charity based in Hong Kong. The sunflower

symbolizes the willpower of the rural women because, like the sunflower, they
stand upright and proud. They face the sun and a brighter future (FOE, 2008).
The Sunflower Project aims to subsidize biogas installations for every rural
household in China (CunCaoXin, 2008b).
The Shaanxi Mothers use a funding model based on local government
subsidy, philanthropic donations and village household contributions (FOE,
2008). Non-governmental (NGOs) donors include Friends of Nature, Global
Women Cooperation, Global Biogas Capacity Building Project, Global Fund
for Women (US), Badi Foundation for Village Capacity Building (Macao), the
World Bank, WuFang XiaoWei and Friends of the Earth Hong Kong. Foreign
governmental bodies, such as the German Consulate, and local government
agencies, such as Shaanxi Province Hydrology Office have also provided
contributions. Between 2003–2005, over RMB1.2 million ($175,677) was
raised. RMB225,000 ($32,940) was spent on capacity building and
technological training and RMB915,200 ($133,970) on retrofitting pig sties,
toilets and kitchens. Only RMB113,100 ($16,560) was spent on
administrative and project management fees.
The Shaanxi Mother’s Association and Shaanxi Province Women
Federation work together to manage funding expenditure. In general, 60 per
cent of funds are paid at the project’s launch. The remainder is received once
projects are completed and evaluated (FOE, 2008). The village authorities,
which include the local party secretary and elected village head, usually decide
who should receive financial support. Biogas subsidies are not automatically
granted to households that apply because plants are in high demand and funds
are limited. Households have to demonstrate how many people would benefit,
show that at least four pigs will be kept, and establish that will be enough
space to rear them. Users of the unit must also be literate. The announcement
of selected households is much cause for celebration and pride. Donor plaques
are hung from front doors of recipients. Solar panels installed on roofs become
status symbols.
Lessons learnt
The main challenge to the biogas scheme was the limited access to technical
guidance and the lack of maintenance experience. Regular education
programmes conducted by the Shaanxi Mother’s have helped tackle this issue.
One initiative was to select 100 farmers who had basic knowledge on biogas
management to undergo further training by experts. The intention was to
enable farmers to educate their own communities, an initiative that will make
certain constant availability of technical service teams in the long run. As an
incentive, awards were presented to 20 farmers who performed most
outstandingly (CunCaoXin, 2008b).
Many households have found the system to be very convenient and clean.
Most women are now able to cook straight after working in the fields because
biogas is virtually ‘on tap’, that is, available at the point of use. They no longer
have to go to collect firewood or bamboo from distant forests or buy dirty and
expensive coal (Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, 2008). Reports suggest
that approximately three hours per day was previously spent collecting wood
and lighting fires for cooking. This time is now replaced with organic farming,
parenting or recreational activities such as weaving and playing music.
According to Mrs Wang Ming Ying, leader and project coordinator of the
Shaanxi Mother’s Association, biogas is a healthier form of energy (Ashden
Awards for Sustainable Energy, 2008). Ever since biogas plants were installed
in households, the health of women and their family members has significantly
improved. They no longer have to breathe in wood smoke, which was the
cause of respiratory and eye disease, because biogas burns with a clean flame.
Kitchens no longer accumulate soot. In comparison to those using
conventional fuels such as coal and firewood, villages that use biogas
reportedly reduced carbon monoxide emissions by 80 per cent, CO2 by 60 per
cent, SO2 by 80 per cent and dust and fumes by 90 per cent (CunCaoXin,
2008a).
Improved sanitation has meant improved living conditions. The direct
connection of latrines to the biogas pit has prevented the spread of odours and
bacteria within the home. The biogas digester pit prevents effluent from
seeping into the groundwater, hence reducing the risk of waterborne disease
through the pooling of dangerous bacteria. The density of flies in houses with
biogas has also dropped by more than half, with even significant reductions in
pigsties (Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, 2008).
Families have benefited from the reuse of slurry residue as liquid fertilizer
for crops and fruit trees. As a free natural fertilizer, it has effectively supplanted
the use of chemical fertilizers. Furthermore, when crop waste and earthworms
are added, a very rich compost is produced that can be readily used or sold
(Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, 2008). Farmers have reported an
improvement between 5 to 10 per cent in plant and fruit growth. According to
them, trees are greener and fruits have more colour (FOE, 2008).
Despite facing initial resistance and scepticism, the Shaanxi Mother’s
Association with its 1200 members, has remained a non-profit organization. It
has involved over a million people in environmental and energy projects all
over Shaanxi province. With the support of the Shaanxi Provincial Women’s
Federation (SWF), which belongs to the national network of the All China
Women Federation, it has educated more than 14000 rural and urban women
and their family members. In recent years, Shaanxi has received many visits
from various international delegations such as the US Global Climate Change
and Environmental Science Delegation, who were reportedly impressed when
shown the extent of biogas use among farmers.
The Shaanxi biogas scheme has facilitated the recovery of the local
environment and improved the heath and livelihoods of families. The villages’
openness to embrace new technology, entrepreneurial initiative, ability to
promote and raise funds and a stubborn drive to overcome bureaucracy has
garnered respect from other villages in China. The use of biogas has reduced
animal waste pollution and halted severe deforestation. It has increased local
incomes based on the sale of organic produce and the availability of cheap
energy. More importantly, it has elevated the status of rural women of Shaanxi,
who have turned sustainable energy and sustainable farming practices into a
form of self-reliance.
Thisted, Denmark
Figure 6.10 The Thisted model
Source: Thisted Kommune
Basic facts
Thisted is a rural municipality located in Northern Denmark, covering an area
of 1093km2 with a population of 46,000 residents. It is one of Denmark’s
largest regions, with 100km of coastline and the biggest coastal heathland in
Europe. Thisted’s main port is gateway to the North Atlantic (Thisted
Municipality, 2008a). In 2007 Thisted received the European Solar Prize for its
commitment to the advancement, development and integration of renewable
energy technologies (Eurosolar, 2008).
Today Thisted generates all of its electricity from renewable energy, 80 per
cent of which is generated by 252 wind turbines, representing 103GWh per
year. The rest of the energy supply is produced from biogas, solar and power
plants that run off residential and agricultural waste. All of its heating is
generated from a combination of facilities, which include a geothermal plant,
a combined waste incinerator and a straw incinerator. By 2008, around 20,500
households and 1700 companies ran on renewable energy in Thisted (Thisted
Municipality, 2008f).
Thisted’s geothermal plant is only one of two geothermal power plants

existing in Denmark today. The plant produces 25GWh of heating, which
constitutes 10 per cent of total heating production. The garbage incinerator
generates about 107GWh of heating by processing 52,000 tons of waste a year.
This accounts for 70 per cent of total heating demand, also producing 25GWh
of electricity a year. The remaining heat production of 30GWh is generated by
the straw power plant/incinerator, which processes 8700 tons of straw waste a
year, accounting for 20 per cent of heating production. To filter the toxic waste
and pollution emitted by burning, wet filters that release only water vapour
were installed, an end-process that was a first in Denmark (Thisted
Municipality, 2008d)
All forms of organic waste that would otherwise be thrown away are used
by farmers in Thisted to produce energy. It is an excellent source of additional
income for those who have installed their own biogas plants. For a fee, farmers
collect waste product from other local farmers and businesses such as
slaughterhouses. The waste is processed in the biogas plant to generate
methane, which is burnt to produce steam for heating. Although it may take
several years to pay back the biogas plants, farmers get a very good supply of
cheap heating. In fact, some are producing surpluses, which at present are lost,
because most farms remain disconnected from the DH network. Some farmers
have also installed windmills, providing extra income earned off electricity sold
to the local electricity company (Thisted Municipality, 2008f).
Recently, a new wood chip based heating plant in Hurup, in the southern
part of Thisted, was built to support the existing 9MW woodchip facility. The
plant has been nicknamed ‘Black Diamond’ by its employees. Due to the new
facility’s ability to process 55,000 tons, an estimated 500,000 kroner ($94,300)
is saved each year. An increased storage capacity has also meant minimizing the
transport of biomass though town (Thisted Municipality, 2008f).

The shift to renewable energy began in 1982 when the municipality founded
the Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy. As a non-profit independent
organization, it was to provide research and training into the development and
implementation of renewable energy technologies and energy savings in
Denmark. Funded by local authorities, national and international agencies and
industry, the goal was to completely replace fossil fuels and nuclear power with
renewable energies (Thisted Municipality, 2008f).
By 1984, the municipality had built its first geothermal plant, also the first
of its kind in Denmark. A second plant was built in 1991 to meet the increasing
heating demands. The straw-fuelled incineration plant was built in 2005
providing supplemental heating. In 1998, a problem was identified with the
energy system. No financial assistance existed for replacing old, outdated
windmills with new turbines, a problem that remained unresolved until 2001
(Thisted Municipality, 2008a).
Thisted developed a renewable energy concept called ‘The Thisted Model’,

which highlighted community, technology and economics as key ingredients
for sustainable development in the region. The model would ensure
cooperation and active engagement by all stakeholders in implementing
existing and new energy technologies that also made sound economic sense.
Achieving the right balance would more likely prompt politicians, companies
and residents to take initiative, encouraging them to participate in the process
voluntarily. The model aims to better respond to local concerns and enable a
local sense of ownership (Thisted Municipality, 2008f).
Different marketing techniques were employed to promote the Thisted
model. Branding was especially crucial during the implementation process and
when educating the public. In September 2008, a website was launched
showcasing the municipality as the leading climate municipality of Denmark.
The site features an 18-minute long movie, explaining in detail the Thisted
model. Regular town meetings provide locals opportunities for debate,
brainstorming and concern-raising. A community ‘ideas bank’ was even set up
by the municipality for future reference (Thisted Municipality, 2008e).
Thisted has adopted strict energy efficiency standards in residential
construction. Recently, a new housing project in Vejle called ‘Komforthusene’
was commissioned to demonstrate passive houses that only use 9kWh/m2,
compared to 58kWh as dictated by Danish regulations, resulting in the
reduction of CO2 emissions by two tons per year. The design involves thick
insulation (40–60cm in walls, ceiling and floors), with a low energy air-
conditioner coupled with a ground heating system, installed to keep the house
warm during winter (Thisted Municipality, 2008g).
Thisted constantly evaluates all its heating and electricity operations, as
well as its transportation and building stock. Research is underway to examine
ways standard practices could be made more energy efficient. One simple
example was staggering school start times in order to use the same school bus
travelling to different schools, an initiative that has helped reduce CO2
emissions from transport by 10 per cent (Thisted Municipality, 2008f).
In the beginning, there were no government subsidies for renewable energy
installations in Thisted. Financial assistance only came into existence after the
municipality won the award in 1992 for being the first authority to develop
wind installations that served its entire region (Thisted Municipality, 2008f).
By 2011, Thisted aims to have increased its electricity generation with
150MW land-based wind power and in the following year, with 400MW sea-
based wind power. A wind turbine plan will involve around 80 new, more
energy-efficient, more profitable turbines spread across 26 projects. The
turbines will be larger, with some spanning 136 metres in height, five of which
will be able to produce enough energy for more than 12,000 private buildings.
Energy-efficiency measures will be enforced targeting the reduction of energy
consumption in new buildings and energy tagging for all public buildings.
There will be a comprehensive plan for public transport services as well as for
water, heating and electricity. A plan will also look at extending the DH
network to include smaller DH heating facilities that supply remote areas. In

cooperation with the Nature Conservation and Environmental Organisation,
Thisted aims to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 3 per cent each year until 2025
(Thisted Municipality, 2008f).
To achieve these goals, incentives will be provided, such as compensation
for people who live very close to wind turbines, renumeration increases for
wind energy and biogas, subsidies for solar and wave energy and tax-free
provisions for hydrogen and electric cars. Incentives will be consistently re-
evaluated depending on the energy system in operation, community needs and
economic benefits (Thisted Municipality, 2008a).
Lessons learnt
There have been many challenges faced and lessons learnt. One challenge was
achieving equity in energy distribution in terms of energy production and
delivery (Thisted Municipality, 2008f). Lack of financial incentives, incomplete
energy infrastructure and distances were the other major barriers.
Despite this, the switch to renewable energy was not difficult for some
because many farmers in the municipality already possessed windmills and
operated their own biogas plants. However, these plants must merge with the
DH network soon in order for farmers to sell surplus heat to other customers
in the future. Indeed, a more complete renewable energy grid will help deliver
surpluses to the entire network and hence provide farmers with more income,
as an increasing number will start to explore waste collection and energy
production opportunities. The extension of the network will also mean
strengthening rural settlements, as they become self-sufficient and enjoy
cheaper energy supplies. It is estimated that energy costs in the region has
decreased by two-thirds since the use of renewables in comparison to bills
based on oil use for heating (Thisted Municipality, 2008f).
Today Thisted Municipality promotes itself as an environmentally
sustainable region and leader in renewable energy technology. The Nordic
Folkecenter for Renewable Energy in the municipality has become one of the
biggest eco-sites in Europe. Thisted’s positioning to be leading CO2 neutral
municipality in Denmark and leader in CO2 reduction has already attracted
visitors not only from Denmark but also from all over the world (Thisted
Municipality, 2008b).
The conversion to renewable energy without local government funding
was only made possible by the strong support and commitment from local
communities and businesses. Its success can be attributed to the intelligent use
of technologies, combined with local business investment and citizen
enterprise. The use of renewable energy in the area has attracted new
companies to the area and as result, increased employment. New businesses
based on waste collection, energy generation and delivery have flourished.
Thisted municipality believes that the reduction of CO2 emissions no longer
depends on heavy investment in advanced technology. A rethinking of standard
procedures based on some lateral thinking is sometimes sufficient.
Varese Ligure, Italy
Figure 6.11 Fortress in the historical town centre of Varese Ligure

Source: William Domenichini
Basic facts
Varese Ligure is a rural municipality in the region of Liguria in Northern Italy.
With a total population of only 2400 people spread across 27 hamlets, its
14000 hectares of hilly terrain is almost completely covered by forests. Today
all of the municipality’s electricity comes from renewable sources. It produces
three times more electricity than it needs and has plans for more renewables in
the future. Wind and solar, biomass and small-scale hydropower make up its
energy strategy.
Varese Ligure was the first European community to receive the ISO 14001
certification in 1999. It was also the first local authority to win two EMAS
environmental certification awards in 1999 and 2002. In 2004, the
municipality was awarded the European Union prize for Best Renewable
Energy Partnership in Rural Communities (AKI, 2008).
Each of the municipality’s four 46m tall wind turbines, positioned on a
ridge 1100m above sea level, has a capacity of 2 million kWh/year. The first
two of the 0.75MW wind power generators were the first installed in the
region. The turbines are managed and maintained by ACAM, the power
company in La Spezia, but jointly owned by the municipality. The surplus of

electricity generated is fed and sold into the local grid, earning the municipality
around €30,000 a year (Burgermeister, 2007).
Photovoltaic panels have been installed on the roof of the municipality’s
town hall, the local middle school and its only hotel. The panels on the town
hall and hotel alone produce a total of 23,000kW annually, which is enough
to provide heat and hot water for both buildings. In comparison, the middle
school’s 39 photovoltaic panels produce 4600kWh a year, which represents 62
per cent of the building’s energy needs (Thomas, 2008). The town’s swimming
pool is also heated by solar power. There are two photovoltaic plants installed
on the public wastewater treatment station with plans underway for a third
plant.
As part of their biomass initiative, the municipality encourages the local
production of pellets and use of pellet boilers. Its forests are a tremendous
biomass reserve and its agricultural fields generate a lot of organic waste, a
tremendous source of energy. For example, sawdust from factories is dried and
compressed by a very high-pressure machine without any glue other than the
sap from the biomass itself, to produce pellets for fuel (Greennav, 2008). The
pellets are burnt for heating or generate steam to run turbines, which in turn
produce electricity. The production of pellets has meant the generation of local
energy and local income that also sustainably maintains local forests.
Today Varese Ligure has 108 organic farms that satisfy almost all of the
town’s food needs. Its water is purified using environmentally friendly
technology, and its rubbish has been significantly reduced thanks to the waste
collection and separation system (Thomas, 2008). Approximately a quarter of
its refuse is recycled (AKI, 2008).

During the 1990s, Varese Ligure’s population had shrunk to more than half its
original size. Its villages were decaying, there were few jobs and the local
economy was struggling. To counter the decline, the municipality and its
mayor devised a self-sustainable development strategy based on 100 per cent
renewable energy and 100 per cent organic agriculture (Procura, 2008).
Environmental certification was chosen as the primary driver. This path would
enable them to save energy, use all the renewable energy sources available,
protect the environment, rehabilitate the agricultural sector and promote
tourism (AKI, 2008).
The municipality launched the scheme with the renovation of its historic
centre. Funding from the EU and support from WWF enabled them to
rehabilitate the old core – signalling the commitment of the local authority to
the people, region and environment. As well as funds for energy infrastructure,
the EU, national and regional authorities contributed €4.6 million to assist
with the renovation, with another €600,000 provided by national, regional
and local funds for the renovation of the second historical centre.
Initiatives were implemented to boost tourism and increase environmental

awareness. Organic farming was encouraged to rehabilitate the agriculture
sector. Acting as promoter and steward, the municipality assembled a
consortium of pertinent parties, which included the public utilities company,
ACAM; the regional, provincial and Mountain Community authorities;
breeding and farming cooperatives and a regional energy agency called ARE
Liguria Spa (IDAE, 2001b)
Two wind turbines were first installed, with a further two in recent years.
The total cost was €1.8 million, 30 per cent of which was financed by the EU
and regional funds, with private investments constituting the rest. The
installation of solar panels on municipal roofs soon followed. These were
funded by regional and local funds, amounting to €155,000 (Procura, 2008).
To register for the ISO 14001 and EMAS, local funds of €51,000 were
provided. The EU and Mountain Community provided some financial
assistance to promote organic farming. For its municipal waste management,
which includes collection separation and landfill site management, local and
regional groups raised €32,0000 (Green Labels Purchase, 2006).
Community participation in renewable energy projects was encouraged.
The municipality began running a school project called the Force Énergétique
par les Enfants (FEE), as part of the EU programme. The project raised the
awareness of local students, families and local stakeholders on energy issues
such as energy saving, renewable energy sources and the environment
(Procura, 2008).
Lessons learnt
According to the town mayor, the main obstacle to 100 per cent self-sufficiency
in rural Italian villages was bureaucracy. The high connection costs to the
national grid and general lack of funding were major challenges. Varese Ligure
had to wait one year to get approval from Italy’s central authorities for its wind
farm project and another year to connect to the national grid. The project
finally cost half of the €900,000 originally quoted by Italy’s main electricity
supplier ENEL. The small hydroelectric dam, which was to produce 1 million
kilowatts at a cost of cost €1.1 million, has been on hold for months because
the village has been unable to obtain funding. At an average price of €20,000,
solar panels were also very costly. There were no grants available to private
citizens and businesses wanting to install them.
However, according to the national government, there will be measures to
increase the use of renewable energy. These include tax rebates on solar panels,
funding of all small-scale renewable energy projects, incentives for purchasing
energy-efficient household appliances and industrial equipment, and a €25
million fund to finance education, training, information and international
cooperation each year. Modelled on a similar law in Germany, an ‘energy
account’ law will be established as part of a system of incentives. The law
authorizes electricity suppliers to sign 20-year contracts with solar panel
owners under which all the energy produced by the panels is sold to the
supplier at a price about two and a half times the electricity sold by the supplier
to private consumers. The extra kilowatt hours are then deducted from the
solar panel owner’s electricity bill.
Because of Varese Ligure’s rural landscape and sparse population,
renewable energy technologies were well-suited to provide cheap, more
accessible energy to a region, which would otherwise be disconnected due to
large distances from major transmission lines. This is despite the mixed
reactions to the wind farms, as some see them as a disfigurement while others
find them oddly striking. Still, the large amount of surplus electricity has meant
extra income for the municipality and low energy costs for locals. Also, the 50
agricultural cooperatives have reported very good profits.
For locals, the strategy adopted by Varese Ligure has meant economic
progress, energy security and higher living standards. Within ten years, 140
new jobs have been created within the renewable energy sector. Most people
are staying, former residents have returned and some newcomers are coming
to live in the area, attracted by the clean air, clean streets and organic produce.
It has also meant environmental and historical preservation for the
municipality. As well as a large supply of cheap energy, Varese Ligure’s council
receives an additional €350,000 ($514,000) in tax revenues each year from the
private company that owns the renewable energy network. According to town
mayor, Varese Ligure easily fulfils all the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol.
Any profit that is generated goes back into the local renewable energy
operations, thus keeping energy costs down for residents (Burgermeister,
2007).
EU policy was key to the development of renewable energy in Varese
Ligure. The EU had set definite objectives in relation to renewable energy
development that, in accordance with financial agreements, Varese Ligure had
to fulfil (Burgermeister, 2007). Also instrumental was local political drive,
determination and patience, particularly in relation to approval and funding
periods. Acceptance and participation by locals ensured fluent implementation.
The number of tourists visiting Varese Ligure has increased significantly in
the last ten years, many arriving just to see its renewable energy facilities
(Thomas, 2008). The ISO 14001 and EMAS certifications have helped raise
environmental awareness in the village, increased the standing of the village in
the region, as well as promote renewables as a viable alternative to other
villages. Carbon emissions reductions have been significant. The electricity
from wind turbines alone has reduced carbon emissions by 8000 tonnes
(Burgermeister, 2007). Most of the public buildings in the municipality are
completely self-powering and its food supply is virtually guaranteed by the
many organic farms at hand.
The steely determination and resolve of the rural council of Varese Ligure
has been instrumental in the development of renewable energy in the region.
By exploring the various financial mechanisms and incentives at hand, it was
able to fund a locally based model that regenerated whole villages, conserved
history and combined local energy production with organic food production as
a robust basis for sustainable tourism.
Eco-Viikki, Helsinki, Finland
Figure 6.12 Solar panels are integrated to a block of flats in Latokartano ecological
housing area in Viikki area, Helsinki, Finland
Source: Pöllö
Basic facts
Eco-Viikki is an ecological experimental area in the southern part of the
Latokartano housing area in Viikki, 7km northeast from the city centre of
Helsinki in Finland. This eco-community project is spread over a total area of
23 hectares on a greenfield site, bounded by a historical nature conservation
area and the University of Helsinki’s School of Agriculture and Forestry. Today,
Eco-Viikki is known for its high-quality high-density ecological housing
construction that incorporates intelligent energy systems alongside social
aspects of sustainability. Today, some 1700 inhabitants live here and enjoy
many conventional services such as supermarkets, clubs, bus stations, a
kindergarten and schools (Energie-Cités, 2000).
Eco-Viikki employs new technologies in energy production and savings.
With regard to solar energy, Eco-Viikki applies passive techniques involving
building orientation, green houses and glazed balconies, while active
techniques involve solar-generated heating and electricity systems. Tests on
photovoltaic cells integrated into multi-family buildings have shown a

production of 15–20 per cent of the household’s needs from just 200m2 of
photovoltaic cells built into the balcony railings. The solar systems generate
approximately 80–100kWh/m2, with a capacity of 24kWp. They are connected
to the grid, which allow surplus electricity to be exported in summer and the
import of energy during the colder winter months (Intelligent Energy Europe,
2008).
Eco-Viikki’s solar heat project was the largest solar energy installation and
first ever project of its kind in Finland. Today, there are nine solar energy
systems of between 80–250m², each optimized for its integration into roof
construction and canopies, with a total collecting surface area of 1246m2,
installed for 368 apartments (Energie-Cités, 2000). The solar heating systems
are utilized mostly for the heating of domestic hot water and also as a
supplement to space heating through floor heating. New solar combi-systems,
low-flow schemes, parallel use of solar and DH and large area modules (unit
size 10m2) are all demonstrated in Eco-Viikki (SOLPROS, 2003).

Eco-Viikki began as an eco-community project, a collaborative project
established in 1993 by the Ministry of Environment and the Finnish
Association of Architects (SAFA) with the aim of testing ‘ecological principles
in practical design and building’ (City of Helsinki, 2005). In January 1994,
expressions of interest were sought from local authorities throughout Finland
for a testing ground for the project. From 16 proposals, the area of Viikki was
chosen as the site due to its proximity to the city centre, accessibility via public
transport, existing communal structure and because preliminary plans to settle
Viikki were already been in place since 1989. The local plan envisaged the
extension of the university area and the construction of a new residential area
connected to Viikki’s Science Park, a plan that conserves the natural and
cultural values of the area (Intelligent Energy Europe, 2008).
There was a huge amount of interest when the City of Helsinki, the
National Technology Agency of Finland (Tekes) and the eco-community
project launched the double competition in 1994 for the planning and design
of Eco-Viikki. The first competition concerned the layout of the district and the
second targeted the building of the experimental housing community.
Competition criteria stipulated that the design should be economically feasible,
possess high architectural quality, be integrated well with the environment, be
pleasant to live in and promote diversity of uses and cultures. The design
should also integrate the use of renewable energy, incorporate water-saving
measures, maintain ecological diversity and the use of durable raw, non-toxic
materials whenever possible. Other criteria included implementing modern
telecommunication technology, promoting the involvement of residents in
environmental protection and integrating solutions without cars, with priority
given to public transport (Energie-Cités, 2000).
The winning proposal was chosen in 1995 from 91 proposals. The design
by architect Petri Laaksonen was based on a ‘green fingers’ concept. Open
space between buildings allowed for planting and allotment gardens,
composting and storm water management. Mainly four to five stories in
height, residential buildings gathered around courtyards with facades oriented
to the south to maximize solar exposure. Stepped building massing and
vegetation lessened the effects of wind through open spaces (WSA, 2004).
Every housing development included a separate metering of water
consumption for each dwelling and water-saving plumbing fittings.(City of
Helsinki, 2005). Achieving an estimated consumption that was well below the
competition criteria, the architectural design proposed careful use of ecological
materials and renewable energy use in form of solar heating (Energie-Cités,
2000).
By 1997, a set of ecological criteria (PIMWAG) had been drawn up by an
interdisciplinary working group to evaluate subsequent building competition
proposals for different lots. The eco-criteria defined five aspects: pollution,
natural resources, health, bio-diversity and growing food (WSA, 2004). No
specific requirements were made in relation to building construction, but the
buildings were required to achieve a high standard in baseline performance.
Calculations and explanations were required in the building permit documents
and signed by the developer to show that mandatory requirements were
fulfilled (Intelligent Energy Europe, 2008).
The first phase of Eco-Viikki began in 1998 with construction of a third of
the district. By the spring of that year, a methodology that integrated
monitoring and assessment of the projects was published (Energie-Cités,
2000). By 1998, Eco-Viikki was completed with 2000 inhabitants moving in,
generating around 2000 new jobs (WSA, 2004). The Eco-Viikki solar project
was launched in the summer of 1998, but it was only in 2000 when the first
solar system was installed with a total surface area of 248m². By late 2001,
solar systems were contributing some 15 per cent of the annual heat demand
of the Eco-Viikki area (Energie-Cités, 2000). The new Science Park is due for
completion in 2010 as an international centre for biology and biotechnology
of the University of Helsinki, creating around 6000 new jobs, 6000 places for
student and homes for 13,000 people (WSA, 2004). The remaining residential
areas of Viikki will be constructed after 2010.
Eco-Viikki evolved as a response to the Rio Climate Change Conference
and Kyoto Agreement. The domestic driver was the Finnish government’s
programme of ecologically sustainable development, which promoted a cut in
energy use (WSA, 2004). Through the KEKO programme, Tekes was able to
test the principles of sustainable development in eco-construction by
supporting the development. Ecological models from other Nordic countries
were also influential, particularly during the earlier stages (City of Helsinki,
2005). SOLPROS, an independent Finnish company acting as primary
consultant in relation to energy, environmental and health issues, coordinated
the entire solar project as part of the EU’s Thermie Programme (SOLPROS,
2003).
The Housing Fund of Finland Housing provided major finance for the new
district. To compensate for the cost of building foundations on difficult clay
soil, the City of Helsinki reduced land rents. The €4 million subsidy granted
by the EU was channelled primarily into research and product development
projects such as building materials and methods, environmental management
and waste management; rather than actual building and infrastructure
construction (Intelligent Energy Europe, 2008).
Lessons learnt
Many of the residential innovations that were initially proposed were not
implemented. For example, proposals for using clay and recycled building
waste for floor structures, recycling grey water and cooling cold storage spaces
by using geothermal energy failed due to technical and economic reasons.
Thermal concrete wall construction was abandoned due to problems
encountered during construction. This stage also caused some builders to
forego restrictions on forbidden building materials as stipulated in the
ecological materials database. The information network planned for buildings
and the whole area did not proceed because broadband connections from
external operators were already commonplace (City of Helsinki, 2005).
Despite the diversity of housing types, high density was an issue for some
residents because they expected to be closer to nature, as the name Eco-Viikki
suggests (City of Helsinki, 2005). Ironically, it is this density that enables the
preservation of nature in surrounding areas. Nonetheless, the project has
attracted many environmentally conscious consumers (City of Helsinki, 2005).
When marketing the project to future purchasers and tenants, the ecological
features of the district were key selling points.
The City of Helsinki was ultimately responsible for initiating and
developing the Eco-Viikki area. From the very beginning, the utilization of
solar energy was enforced in the preparation of building and land use plans for
Eco-Viikki (WSA, 2004). At a cost of €800,000, the Eco-Viikki Solar Project
was unique because solar energy was integrated into the project at different
levels, using roof-integrated collectors and solar design, among other solutions
and new financing patterns such as joint purchases (Energie-Cités, 2000).
Because building planning did not start before the solar project, it allowed for
the proper siting, placing and sizing of solar heating systems in combination
with proper building orientation. The building planning process therefore
encompassed all solar requirements, both active and passive.
The utilization of solar energy and natural ventilation techniques has been
quite successful (City of Helsinki, 2005). The solar heating storage system fits
well with the basic heating system, which is DH with low return temperatures,
which means that the solar heating system can produce higher solar yields than
in standard systems. Although the solar collectors have functioned well, the
systems’ heat discharge circuits still required adjustments after its first year.
The property maintenance staff had to be trained in the use of the equipment
(City of Helsinki, 2005). The cost of solar installations has increased house
prices by around 0.5 per cent but residents do receive free hot water in return
(Energie-Cités, 2000).
Despite heat energy savings of around 25 per cent, the goal of using 33 per
cent less DH than conventional Helsinki residential buildings was not achieved
during the first years of operation, in fact actual consumption rose by almost
15 per cent. Factors influencing heating consumption included ventilation,
house and ownership type, solar heating and household hot water use. The
actual electricity consumption in Eco-Viikki has varied even more than
heating, as a result of similar factors plus the use of additional household
appliances, individual saunas in flats, the amount of shared spaces and lifts
(City of Helsinki, 2005).
Nonetheless, the consumption of primary energy, that is energy bound up
in materials, has been reduced by one fifth, compared to conventional building
(WSA, 2004). There were reductions in the amount of waste produced by an
inhabitant, the CO2 emissions of each building and the amount of building
waste during construction (Intelligent Energy Europe, 2008). Water
consumption decreased by 22 per cent, but the figure also varied depending on
the house type and form of ownership.
To maintain control over development and promote environmental
quality, a land exchange agreement stipulated that one-third of the plot area
would belong to the Finnish state, reserved for building owner-occupier
housing. The City of Helsinki and the state would then jointly agree on the
plot subdivision and the form of occupancy, the divided plots then
subsequently sold to building developers based on contracts dictating overall
ecological objectives (City of Helsinki, 2005). About half of the housing was
reserved for owner-occupancy and a quarter each for rented and ‘right-of-
occupancy’ dwellings (enabling residents to buy into the scheme by paying a
refundable amount of 15 per cent of the value of the home, alongside a
monthly residence charge). It was easier to implement additional funds to
fulfil eco-criteria with owner-occupied housing than in state-subsidized
housing (City of Helsinki, 2005).
The competitions were critical in the development of the project,
particularly with awareness raising and the training of design and construction
teams (Energie-Cités, 2000). The competition structure insisted on
workgroups that included a variety of professionals. The range of expertise
was necessary to ensure that projects were successfully executed, operated
within a realistic budget and fulfilled all eco-criteria originally proposed. Each
workgroup had to include an architect, a structural engineer, a HVAC (heating,
ventilation and air-conditioning) and electrical engineer, an expert in ecology
and a building developer (City of Helsinki, 2005).
Finland is a country where there is strong urbanization so Eco-Viikki is set
to prove that integrating ecological criteria in urban development projects is
feasible. A holistic system from beginning to start based on ecological
development principles is possible but it requires patience, dedication and

many years of collaboration before the benefits come to fruition. Although
Eco-Viikki is not yet complete, the project has shown the world that much
could be accomplished. Environmental evaluation of the schemes and many
technical innovations in construction will provide important areas for future
learning.
Woking, UK
Figure 6.13 The town square of Woking, Surrey, UK

Source: Alan Ford
Basic facts
Woking Borough Council is located in Surrey, 30 miles south of London. The
borough has a population of around 100,000 people and is surrounded
entirely by greenbelt land, including large areas of countryside, heathland and
common land. H. G. Wells was its most famous resident and wrote War of the
Worlds here (Brown, 2004). Today Woking is recognized as the most energy
efficient local authority in the UK and is renowned worldwide for its local
decentralized energy systems.
In the millennium New Year’s honours, Allan Jones, the council’s then
energy services manager, received an MBE (Member of the British Empire) for
his services to energy and water efficiency (Muir, 2005). In the following year,
Woking was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable
Development for the development of local sustainable energy systems, the only
local authority to ever receive the prize. In March 2005, Woking was one of
seven local authorities awarded the Beacon Council status for Sustainable
Energy. In partnership with the Energy Centre for Sustainable Communities,
the status promoted Woking as mentor to other local authorities.
Woking’s energy services concept is not about the provision of electricity
and gas but energy services such as heating, cooling, lighting and power
(Woking Borough Council, 2003). Woking was the first local authority in the
UK to introduce the ESCO model, a public–private joint venture energy services
company, ultimately responsible for a network of over 85 local generators to
directly power, heat and cool municipal buildings, residential estates and local
businesses. The distributed small-scale power plants range from 3–10,000kW
and are located close to where electricity is used as an alternative source of
energy or as supplement to existing conventional supplies (C40 Cities, 2008a).
Woking’s town centre energy plant incorporates the UK’s first small-scale
CHP heating and heat-fired absorption cooling system. It produces 1.3MW of
electricity, 1.6MW of heating and 1.2MW absorption cooling (Morgan and
Thorp, 2005). The borough’s private wire residential CHP systems were the
first in the UK, and its integrated photovoltaic installations were one of the
largest in the country. Car parks have solar-powered ticket machines, estates
have roofs covered by photovoltaic panels and streetlights are either solar or
wind powered (Brown, 2004). A 34m-long, 22m-wide canopy covered with
35,000 photovoltaic cells creates a spectacular entry to Albion Square train
station, marking the gateway into town. It will produce up to 58MW of
electricity a year, saving 41 tons of CO2 emissions. The solar photovoltaic
panels and CHP have been particularly beneficial in the council’s public
housing schemes (Stotz, 2005). When flows of electricity from photovoltaic
cells stop as daylight ends, the CHP plant kicks in. When rooms in town are
getting too warm, excess heat is used to drive the chillers.
Woking was the first local authority to install a hydrogen fuel cell CHP
system in Woking Park. It produces 1.1MW of electricity, 0.2MW of electricity
by hydrogen fuel cell, 1.6MW of heating and 0.5MW of absorption cooling.
Excess heat produced is used to power the leisure centre’s air conditioning
requirements via heat-fired absorption cooling. The fuel cell plant also supplies
pure water as a by-product of hydrogen and oxygen combining to produce
electricity, producing roughly 1 million litres a year of 100 per cent pure water
(Brown, 2004). Surplus electricity, representing 60 per cent of the energy
generated, is exported to the council’s sheltered housing schemes (Woking
Borough Council, 2003), providing power as well as water to two hotels, a
conference and events centre, a bowling alley, a nightclub and a multi-storey
car park (Muir, 2005).
Woking implements a range of low carbon projects including energy and

water efficiency, waste recycling, energy from waste and alternative fuels for
transport. To reduce emissions, the council has replaced its diesel-engine refuse
collection lorries with ones that run on liquefied natural gas (Muir, 2005). The
replacement occurred progressively as transport contracts came up for
renewal. Householders were offered condensing central heating and water
boilers for the same or lower price than a conventional boiler as part of an
energy conservation package (Stotz, 2005).

Woking’s decentralized energy transformation began in 1990 when Allan
Jones, the energy manager for Woking Borough Council completed an
environmental audit reporting on global warming, which swiftly resulted in an
energy efficiency plan established later that year. Incidentally, the Jones’ report
came two years before the Rio Earth Summit. Their goal was threefold: reduce
CO2 emissions, adapt to climate change and promote sustainable development.
With this in mind, the council began revising their planning and regulations,
energy services, waste, transport, procurement, education and promotion,
management of natural habitats, and adaptation measures to climate change
(Morgan and Thorp 2005).
Woking Council first established environmental and energy targets without
knowing how much it would cost. It was agreed that politics had to be put
aside before any financial proposals were presented. However, it was soon
estimated that £1.25 million was needed to reduce emissions by 20 per cent
over five years, which was a huge initial capital outlay (Stotz, 2005). So in lieu
of a lump sum, its energy manager asked for a fifth of the money needed for
the five-year target, with a proviso that financial savings or profits made from
the reduced energy bills would be recycled into the following year’s investment
pool. Indeed, a year later, the council was already saving around £700,000 on
its energy bills (ABC Radio National, 2008). The energy efficiency recycling
fund helped change attitudes within the council. The large savings achieved
resulted in an increase of bi-partisan support among councillors for the Energy
Efficiency Policy (Stotz, 2005).
By 1991 Woking had launched an energy-efficient lighting system for
municipal buildings, which generated savings of up to 70 per cent. This was
followed by the installation of the £4.2 million co-generation system and a
Building Energy Management System (Stotz, 2005). In 1999, Woking Council
founded its own energy and environmental service company (ESCO) called
Thamesway Ltd. To be free of local government regulation and restrictions in
government capital distribution, Thamesway Ltd created its own unregulated
energy services company called Thamesway Energy Ltd, predominantly owned
by the borough council with 10 per cent ownership by Danish company, Xergi
Limited. The company and the council’s revolving fund helped finance the
installation and maintenance costs of the CHP plant. Typically, Thamesway
Energy Ltd covered the net capital costs, with running costs met by income
received from tenants (Stotz, 2005).
Most households voluntarily signed up for renewable energy. By this time,
Woking had already implemented 10 per cent of UK’s photovoltaics as well as
put into operation its first fuel cell CHP. Cables were laid as part of the private
wire network. In 2003, the fuel cell plant at Woking Park was launched. By
2004, the Surrey Structure Plan required that all development incorporate
energy efficiency best practice procedures. A minimum of 10 per cent of the
energy should come from renewable resources generated on-site. CHP for over
5000m2 of development was encouraged (Morgan, 2006).
The ESCO finance model helped progress and maintain the recycled
capital fund. Within nine years, a total of £2.2 million was invested in over 85
projects, from the original capital fund of £0.25 million established in 1990.
An 8 per cent internal rate of return with the council and green energy sales
based on market rates ensured decent income on investments (C40 Cities,
2008a). By the end of 2006, the council’s energy company (Thameswey Energy
Ltd) had invested £12 million.
Some of the council’s assets bought for £3 million were developed between
1991 and 2000, and another £9 million (2000–2005) was spent building the
council’s new infrastructure. The electricity network itself was relatively cheap.
The main cost was the CHP system itself and the DH network. Trenches were
already in place when DH was put in, so the cost of dropping a cable for the
delivery of electricity, heating or cooling in the same trench was negligible
(ABC Radio National, 2008).
Woking’s energy efficiency strategy was financed by a £256,000 grant-
aided energy conservation scheme provided by the council and supplemented
by the national government. This helped provide full insulation measures in
over 3000 fuel-poor households between 1996 and 2002. A further £325,000
was allocated via the council’s Housing Investment Programme from 2000 to
2005 (Woking Borough Council, 2003). Aid was particularly directed to those
who were spending 10 per cent or more of their household income on heating,
the fuel poverty threshold as defined by the UK government (Greenpeace,
2006).
Lessons learnt
The major barrier to Woking’s energy system was the regulations set by the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) (Brown, 2004). The existing
regulatory regime severely limited the number of domestic customers that
could be supplied with green energy (Taking Stock, 2003). And although
Woking’s CHP and renewable energy generators were embedded in the local
distribution network, they attracted similar trading charges as conventional
central power stations because they were still connected to the national grid.
The use of the grid incurs transmission and distribution charges, the Fossil
Fuel Levy, VAT (value added tax) and the Climate Change Levy for non-
residential customers – adding to actual electricity charges and representing 25

per cent of most electricity bills. To avoid incurring the trading costs, Woking
took advantage of the Electricity Orders of 1995 and 1997, which enabled
them to lay their own private wires to all the properties that take its electricity,
and to put into practice a local trading system. Combined with the efficiency
of CHP, this made co-generation technology financially viable in Woking,
enabling the supply of green energy to local customers at or below the market
rate for brown energy (Woking Borough Council, 2003).
Some have argued that local decentralized energy production would mean
reduced output. Woking has demonstrated that this is not so because the
energy lost otherwise in transmission and distribution from remote locations is
regained when electricity is generated locally. The localized ‘private wire’
district system can also operate in isolation when there is a disruption in
national supplies.
Woking’s plants mostly run on natural gas, tapped externally so this
means that plants are still emitters of CO2, albeit at lower levels than most
fossil fuels (C40 Cities, 2008a). Emissions are compensated by the fact that
when heat is recovered to either heat or cool buildings from local generation,
it actually uses two-thirds less fuel and considerably less water (ABC Radio
National, 2008). Woking is conscious of the brown fuel problem and has
prompted new research into ways of generating their own renewable fuels
(ABC Radio National, 2008).
Woking nevertheless enjoys many environmental and economic benefits
from its energy system. Between 1991 and 2004, the town achieved a 48.6 per
cent savings in energy consumption. CO2 emissions fell by 77.4 per cent, NOx
emissions by 76.6 per cent and SO2 levels by 90.9 per cent. Water consumption
was also cut by 43.8 per cent, saving the council more than £5.4m on water
bills over the period (Muir, 2005).
Woking cut out transmission and distribution charges discussed earlier by
effectively cutting out the ‘middle-men’. In undercutting the grid, green energy
is supplied at 1 pence a unit cheaper than grid energy, hence increasing
municipal revenue. Households enjoy reductions in energy bills by £130–200
a year and fuel-poor households are supplied with heat and power that cost a
third less than before (Greenpeace, 2006).
The projects were quickly implemented due to support from private
finance. By establishing an energy services company, it made it easier for
people such as developers to design finance, accelerate, build and operate
decentralized energy systems (ABC Radio National, 2008). Woking Council’s
partnership with an energy company made sure that locals did not share the
high initial cost of the primary energy plant. This risk was transferred to
Thameswey Energy Ltd, ensuring security in cost and supply. The company
assumed responsibility not just for the design, finance and implementation of
the plant but also the maintenance and production of green energy, which also
included stand-by and top-up supplies (Woking Borough Council, 2003).
In recent years, Woking has founded an energy conservation and solar
centre for future R&D projects (Morgan and Thorp, 2005) There are plans to
increase the number of CHP stations within Woking and elsewhere in the UK
(C40 Cities, 2008a). Woking Borough Council is also set to continue work
with other cities, states and countries around the world in developing localized
distribution networks (Stotz, 2005).
The Woking model demonstrates that renewable technologies are
complementary and flexible – a type of engineering that can be assembled part-
by-part as funds permit over time. It shows that renewables can be competitive
but only when free from restrictions of centralized regulation and
infrastructure (Greenpeace, 2006). However, most critical to the development
of renewable energy was corporate commitment, cross-political party
agreement and coordination, energy efficiency and robust support from a
range of financial structures.
Reykjavik, Iceland
Figure 6.14 Krafla geothermal power plant in Iceland

Source: Ásgeir Eggertsson
Basic facts
Reykjavik is the capital city of Iceland, with a population of around 180,000
inhabitants, representing half the national population. As the location of the
world’s largest geothermal DH system, the entire city is powered by
geothermal energy via an extensive electricity distribution network harnessing
750MW thermal power from steam, and a water distribution system

generating 60 million cubic metres of hot water. The use of this natural
resource has significantly reduced the city’s reliance on fossil fuels (C40 Cities,
2008b).
Indeed, the city is located in a most advantageous position – a country with
naturally occurring geothermal heat supplies due to vast landscapes of high
volcanic activity. The natural heat from the underground hot water reservoirs
is easily turned into clean heating and electricity for the entire country. In
2005, five geothermal power/heating plants were already producing 26 per
cent of the country’s electricity and 87 per cent of the housing and building
heating needs (C40 Cities, 2008b). Furthermore, around 85 per cent of
electricity in Iceland is generated by two hydropower stations generating a
combined output of 11.4MW (Orkuveita Reykjavíkur, 2008).
It is unsurprising that Iceland is on track with plans for a hydrogen-based
economy by 2050. To date it has installed a public transport system that
mostly runs on renewable fuels such as hydrogen, bio-methane and
compressed natural gas (CNG), fuels generated entirely by geothermal and
hydropower.

Since 1930, natural hot water has been used to heat buildings and homes in
Reykjavik. In the late 1960s a new Energy Fund, which combined the former
Electricity Fund and the Geothermal Fund, was established to further increase
the use of geothermal resources in the country. Loans were granted to
companies for geothermal exploration and drilling. These were transformed
into grants if drilling failed to produce the expected results (C40 Cities,
2008b).
In 1990, the city built the Nesjavellir geothermal station 27km away to
provide hot water for the Reykjavik area by heating freshwater with
geothermal steam and hot water exchangers. In 1998, the power plant began
operations with two 30MW steam turbines. In 2001, a third turbine was
installed and the plant enlarged from a capacity of 90MW to 120MW in 2005;
today total generation is 674GWh. The latest is a second, 90MW plant, built
in 2006 at Hellisheidi (C40 Cities, 2008b).
The energy crisis of the 1970s prompted the national government to
develop cheaper and cleaner energy and thus increase Iceland’s security by
reducing its dependence on fossil fuel imports (NATO, 2001). The crisis also
triggered a new research project by the University of Iceland into hydrogen as
transportation fuel. The plan was to transform all of the country’s vehicle fleet
(cars, trucks, buses) as well as fishing fleet to hydrogen internal combustion
and hydrogen fuel cell power. Iceland’s abundant sources of renewable energy
and experience in exploiting geothermal resources made it the best location to
develop a hydrogen technology not fed by fossil fuels (BRASS, 2008).
By 1998, the government had introduced a national hydrogen policy,
supported by the university, which had developed and marketed the research
gained in hydrogen production. Because there was no precedent for fuel cell
technology using hydrogen or developing vehicles to run on hydrogen in
Iceland, the country promoted itself abroad as the perfect ‘testing ground’ for
this type of research, over time attracting interest from a variety of overseas
companies. There were even plans with Japanese partners to develop a
hydrogen shipping project (BRASS, 2008).
In 2003, the world’s first hydrogen refuelling station was opened on the
site of a conventional gas station in Reykjavík. From 2003 to 2008, four
hydrogen buses operated as part of Reykjavik’s public transport system,
funded by the EU through the ECTOS/CUTE programme (BRASS, 2008). This
allowed for several assessments in relation to the technical performance of
buses, the effectiveness of hydrogen infrastructure in Iceland, and the socio-
economic and environmental implications of using hydrogen as an energy
source. By 2005, another hydrogen fuel station was in operation producing
hydrogen on site through electrolysis. It is envisaged that by mid-2009, around
30 hydrogen-powered vehicles will be in use (Orkuveita Reykjavíkur, 2008).
In addition to hydrogen-based vehicles, there are 50 CNG vehicles, 46 bi-
fuel vehicles and 4 dedicated heavy-duty natural gas vehicles in operation in
Iceland. The bio-methane comes from Reykjavik’s landfill site, operated by the
waste management company SORPA (Orkuveita Reykjavíkur, 2008).
The UN University Geothermal Training Program (UNU-GTP) and
Iceland’s National Energy Authority established a training programme in 1968
to help countries with significant geothermal resources build specialists on
geothermal exploration and sustainable development via specialized training.
By 2005, 338 scientists and engineers from 39 countries had completed
training. Today UNU-GTP graduates are among the leading specialists in
geothermal R&D.
A research fund was set up by the local utility, Reykjavík Energy in
collaboration with the universities in Iceland’s capital for energy and
environmental research. Each year Reykjavík Energy contributes
approximately 0.5 per cent of its revenues towards the fund, as an addition to
the initial capital contribution of ISK100 million ($783,700) (Orkuveita
Reykjavíkur, 2008).
Lessons learnt
Although Iceland produces more electricity per capita than any other country
in the world, less than 20 per cent of the country’s energy potential is actually
used. Iceland could produce as much as 50TWh of electricity, enough to
provide heating and electricity services to 6 million consumers. Although
technically feasible, the laying of underwater power cables to Scotland for
example would not be economically justifiable. Electricity surpluses cannot be
easily sold into the European grid, let alone to North American markets where
distribution distances are too great (NATO, 2001). Iceland’s government is
conscious of this and is presently investigating ways to export this excess

energy or to store it.
The people of Iceland have been weary of dam construction associated
with the hydroelectric plants, lamenting the impacts it has had on ecology and
landscape. However, hydropower experts have argued that hydroelectric
power is cleaner than in other countries because of the cold climate of Iceland,
where manmade lakes do not produce large amounts of algae that can cause
severe environmental problems (NATO, 2001).
Some environmental groups have also opposed the construction of
geothermal plants because of the greenhouse gases emitted by these plants. For
example, about 7500 tons of CO2 is released into the air each year from the
Nesjavellir Power Plant (C40 Cities, 2008b). While geothermal electricity
plants do emit some volcanic gases with greenhouse effects, these levels are
much lower than a fossil fuel-driven power plant of similar capacity (NATO,
2001). It is estimated that since 1944, reductions in CO2 emissions in Iceland
have totalled 110 million tons. Between 2.5 and 4 million tons have been saved
each year (C40 Cities, 2008b).
The reason for hydrogen as transport fuel was its clean-burning properties
– water being the only by-product. While hydrogen is presently generated from
geothermal and hydropower, the gas can alternatively be harnessed by directly
drilling boreholes into the earth’s crust and drawing it out from volcanically
active zones. But this natural occurring gas has to be cleaned before it is used,
which can be expensive. There are plans for drawing methanol gas from the
exhaust gases from smelters, thus significantly reducing CO2 emissions from
those smelters, but Icelandic authorities see this as only an intermediate step
(NATO, 2001).
The challenge for Iceland’s hydrogen project is to make the replacement of
petrol-driven cars with fuel cell-powered vehicles more feasible and cost
effective. This will require a completely new system for distributing fuel,
including fitting current petrol stations with the capacity to distribute charged
batteries. The initiative will naturally demand significant public education and
adaptation (NATO, 2001).
The skills exhibited by local companies during the early stages of
implementation were an issue for most projects. The hydrogen vehicle project,
for example, revealed that local stakeholders were lacking in technical
expertise in fuel cell technology, but this was slowly overcome by forming
partnerships with external companies. In general, projects were quickly and
efficiently implemented thanks to the overall cohesive nature of Icelandic
society. There were trusting relationships between the government and other
stakeholders, and widespread public support for all renewable energy projects
(BRASS, 2008).
Another challenge for projects was the time needed and the patience and
motivation required from all parties, whether from universities, private
companies, NGOs or government entities, to develop new innovative
technology and to resolve any potential problems. For example, lengthy work
was required on testing personal vehicles using the hydrogen technology before
it was finally introduced to the wider public. It took time to train local people
in the maintenance and repair of hydrogen fuel cell systems (BRASS, 2008).
Between the period of 1944 and 2006, financial savings were calculated to
be around $4290 million, compared to the cost of heating by oil. Today the
price of geothermal water is one third of the cost of heating with oil. The low
cost of geothermal power has attracted a number of industries to Iceland,
especially in the aluminium sector, where electricity is a significant addition to
the production costs. In terms of evaluating total initial investments, this has
been difficult to ascertain because operations began on a small-scale back in
the 1930s. Larger developments occurred during World War II, in 1960 and
between 1970 and 1980. It is estimated that to build the entire system today it
would cost around $773 million (C40 Cities, 2008b).
Geothermal energy has led to Iceland’s transformation from one of the
poorest nations to one that enjoys a very high standard of living (C40 Cities,
2008b). The renewable energy industry has created many new jobs from
energy production through to distribution and servicing. The Icelandic
government was key to the success of renewable energy integration in
Reykjavik, all of its actions demonstrating a steadfast commitment to the
renewable energy industries. Local utilities as key energy providers have
provided social and educational support. Reykjavik Energy has helped open
the Museum of Energy as well as an educational centre. Its geothermal plants
and other associated facilities attract a large number of visitors. It is estimated
that 500,000 visitors travel to Reykjavik each year just to learn about the city’s
energy model. They vary from students, environmentalists and economists
through to media, heads of state and other dignitaries (Reykjavik Energy,
2007).
The Icelandic model has shown how government commitment,
perseverance, fearlessness and enterprise were key to the development of
renewable energy in Reykjavik and the rest of Iceland. Community support
and involvement of local and foreign companies in investing capital and
technical expertise, have all contributed towards the creation of the most
sophisticated geothermal facility in the world. The boldness of undergoing
multiple energy transformations, from fossil fuels to geothermal, and then to
hydrogen has resulted in an even cleaner, safer and healthier economy and
environment.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Robyn Polan, University of New South Wales, for initial
research support.
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Chapter Seven
Feed-in Tariffs:
The Policy Path to 100%
Miguel Mendonça and David Jacobs
The renewable energy FiT mechanism has emerged as the most effective,
affordable and flexible means to introduce renewable power quickly. Nations,
regions and even large cities can use its principles with confidence to deploy
any technology or technologies they wish to in their jurisdiction, in order to
more effectively harvest the renewable resources therein. Caps and time limits
on the programme can be set to achieve certain goals on deployment and
overall programme cost, but leaving this open will allow more stable and
vigorous investment and job creation to occur.
To reach a 100 per cent supply of energy from renewables, a FiT support
scheme can be used to boost market development rapidly. If a country or
region is serious about moving to renewable energy, it can set aggressive targets
and payment rates for the different technologies most suitable for the region.
World markets for renewables are still in the establishment phase, so FiTs can
help nations to acquire global market share, as well as drive domestic green
industries. Importantly, FiTs ensure that costs are controlled through the
technological development phase, and they only reward efficient, fully-
functioning installations.
How do FiTs work?

In the electricity sector, FiTs are an efficient instrument, with an ideal mix of
low cost, simplicity and effectiveness. They provide a legally guaranteed long-
term payment to producers of renewable energy, for each kilowatt-hour of
energy they feed into the grid. Payment levels are set according to the
production costs for each technology, and usually decline by a set percentage
each year – the so-called tariff degression – in order to anticipate technological
development. For example, you would receive x cents/kWh for 20 years, but if
you build next year, you receive x -5 per cent.
Costs are usually covered by a small increase in the electricity bills of all
customers in the nation or state. The legally guaranteed production payment
for each technology ensures investment stability, and makes financing cheaper
and easier to acquire. The Stern Review found FiTs to be superior to other
support schemes in terms of cost and deployment (Stern, 2006), and the
European Commission’s 2005 study showed they are a better market launch
mechanism (European Commission, 2005). Indeed, many empirical
comparative studies have found the same (Mendonça, 2007).
Germany has demonstrated the dramatic potential of FiTs for spurring
deployment, job creation, international exports and carbon savings (BMU,
2008). The German FiT law, the Renewable Energy Act (known as the EEG,
or Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz) has offered investment security for almost
two decades. Introduced for the first time in 1990, it has been constantly
adjusted and improved. More and more renewable energy technologies have
been taken into consideration and thus the share of renewable electricity has
been considerably increased.
Spain and formerly Denmark have also used the instrument to build major
global market share in technology exports. FiTs provide a successful
mechanism to create a national renewable energy industry. Six of the ten
largest wind turbine manufacturers are from Germany, Spain or Denmark
(WWEA, 2007). Other nations in this top-ten list, especially China and India,
also implemented national or regional price-based support schemes in order to
create a strong national industry (Lewis, 2007).
As the share of renewable energies in the energy mix increases, it becomes
increasingly important to implement design options that facilitate the
integration of ‘green’ electricity in the ‘grey’ power market. Therefore, several
options can be considered to tackle the issue of variability of some technologies
– wind and photovoltaics in particular – and to better match supply and
demand. For the latter, so-called premium-FiTs have been implemented in
several European countries. Here, the renewable electricity is sold on the spot
market, and in addition to the market price the power producers receives a
fixed premium-FiT payment that covers the cost difference between the market
price and the actual generation cost for each renewable technology. Usually
premium-FiTs are introduced as an optional alternative to the fixed tariff
payment. Generally, only relatively large players opt for the premium-FiT
option, since the effort for selling electricity on the spot market will be
disproportional for small producers, such as private households with a
photovoltaic installation on the roof.
FiTs in the developing world

In several developing countries FiTs have been introduced but there are clear
issues of affordability to be addressed for the poor to not be burdened by any
additional payments required to secure renewables-based electricity supplies.
Alternatively, price fluctuations in the fossil fuel markets have already added
great pressure on the consumers of kerosene for cooking, lighting and heating
– and in the medium term renewable supplies could offer a relief by stabilizing
FEED-IN TARIFFS: THE POLICY PATH TO 100% 169
the source costs. If needed, the extra cost could be distributed equally among
all electricity consumers, as in most European FiTs, but since price increases
are often politically difficult to introduce in normally highly subsidized
markets, a national fund – partly financed by international donors – will often
have to be set up. It is also possible to combine both fee increases and fund
support, as Kenya has done. The Kenyan FiT focuses on relatively cost-efficient
technologies, including biomass, wind power and hydropower. Mauritius
introduced a FiT for the sugar industry, which produces electricity from
bagasse, a by-product of the sugar production process. This way, more than 40
per cent of the country’s electricity demand is covered. Today, sugar cane
producers make more money with electricity generation than with the actual
sugar cane production.
FiTs have great potential for tackling domestic fuel poverty by providing
independence from energy bills to the owner. Combined with energy efficiency
improvements, the generation and export of energy can act as an effective
hedge against future energy price increases. The technologies themselves could
be paid for through deeming and capitalization of the FiT, complemented by
soft loans from government or other agencies.
Transport and heat sectors

The transport sector can see rapid electrification of vehicles if a combination
of measures is pursued. A FiT can be set for new technologies, such as under-
road magnetic generation (MagKinetics, 2008), small roadside maglev wind
turbines (Xinhua News Agency, 2007) or weight from traffic (Kim et al, 2008).
Thermal capture technology can be deployed to use solar heat from the surface
of roads to generate electricity (ENN, 2008). Research, development and
demonstration of the technologies themselves can be supported through
government funds or partnerships with investors and developers. Since FiTs
only pay for actual energy generated, the technology has to work effectively,
and there is no risk to taxpayers who fund the FiT.
With regard to renewable heat, at the time of writing, only Germany had
so far introduced legislation, but opted for an obligation mechanism instead
that makes use of an existing grant or loan programme, citing cost, complexity
and constitutional issues with a FiT. Other countries, including the UK and
France, are beginning to explore the FiT route to renewable heat market
development.
Closing thoughts
Currently some 50 countries, states and provinces around the world are
turning to FiTs, or returning to them, to get their nation moving forward,
faster, towards a higher penetration of renewables (REN21, 2007). Although
many barriers stand in the way, and many scenarios are still putting potential
100 per cent targets at several decades away, it can be done (Boyle, 2008).
Germany’s growth has put it ahead of the 5.2 per cent per annum growth rate
that the United Nations International Sustainable Energy Association
(UNISEO) has reported (2008) will be necessary to replace coal and nuclear by
2050, while accounting for increasing global energy demand.
FiTs, combined with adequate supporting conditions, including planning,
approvals and grid connection, can generate a great deal of this growth, and
not only in industrialized countries with the domestic capital to fund the
growth. Developing countries, too, can introduce this powerful tool by
working with donors and lenders, community development groups and
establishing policies permitting a gradual reduction or transfer of fossil fuel
subsidies to match progressive renewable energy development policies. Cost
competitiveness with the subsidized conventional energy industry is more
likely to result from a widespread and aggressive global uptake of renewables,
and the stable long-term appeal of FiTs is suitable for this task.
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Energy, Earthscan, London
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transparency in renewable energy policy: Lessons from Denmark and the United
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FEED-IN TARIFFS: THE POLICY PATH TO 100% 171
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Chapter Eight
How to Achieve Renewable
Energy Regions and Advance
Sustainable Development:
Integrated Models and Processes
in Germany
Peter Moser, Lioba Kucharczak
and Cord Hoppenbrock
The finite nature of fossil and nuclear energy sources is becoming increasingly
apparent. In the medium and long term there is no alternative to the complete
reliance on renewable energy sources. The feasibility of this conversion is no
longer questioned, but actually requested by a growing number of scientists
and politicians. This is not a question of ‘whether’ but ‘when’ it will happen.
In this regard, regions have a decisive function to stimulate a comprehensive
changeover to the solar age. Social and economic players, government guid-
ance, different renewable energies technologies, economic dynamics as well as
strategic development perspectives play an important role. This chapter
presents a regional overall model, a guideline on how to achieve 100 per cent
renewable energy regions and regional examples from Germany.
100 per cent renewable energy regions and the path required to achieve
this status are the subject of an ongoing research project funded by the Federal
Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. This
project is conducted by the Competence Network for Decentralized Energy
Technologies (deENet GmbH) in cooperation with the University of Kassel.
Besides scientific and theoretical aims, the objective of the project is to support
and evaluate regional activities (DeENet, 2009).
Regions as space for players and the implementations of 100%

renewable energies
To date mainly the federal and the state levels have played a significant role in
boosting the use of renewable energies in Germany. Currently, all regional
activities depend highly on national frameworks that enable the profitable use
of renewable energies. Such frameworks – for example, EEG in Germany – are
not explored in any depth here.
At the regional and local levels people have been content with isolated
activities of limited impact but high publicity. But meanwhile a growing
number of players recognize the unique role of cities and regions in climate
protection and alternative energy supply. The ‘region’ is a complex geographic
territory of multi-dimensional interrelated structures. For a multitude of
reasons, regions are the appropriate level for an extensive increase of a
renewable energy supply. Along with the regional scale, the local level element
will play a decisive role in developing climate strategies integral to regional
planning and implementation.
The prestigious climate researchers Rahmstorf and Schellnhuber (2007) also
support the thesis that the urban system is the ideal geographic entity to organize
integrated solutions for the climate problem. Here appropriate prevention and
adjustment measures can be planned, trialled and developed in direct dialogue
with important players. The scientists argue that small-scale units are on the one
hand transparent enough to allow efficient implementation, but on the other hand
they are large enough to transform individual motives and activities into directed
and powerful cooperation processes. Their conclusion, ‘Medium is beautiful!’,
approves of the regional level as the decisive space for players and implemen-
tation – here the change to 100 per cent renewable energies promises to be fea-
sible soon. In particular, structurally weak, low-density regions find a regional
development driver in the increase of renewable energies – and along with this
they find hope to buffer future energy price risks.
Regions provide enormous scope for strategic concepts and creations
within evolving legal frameworks and the innovative application of financial
resources. Regional decision-makers often have a strong local groundedness
and hence like the vision of ‘energy independence’ or ‘100 per cent renewable
energy regions’ to develop a strong regional sense of identity (Tischer et al,
2006). They can be key champions of renewable energy proliferation. Visible
changes, socially and spatially integrated, support these processes. Renewable
energy expansion on the regional planning level invites the rallying of a
number of special interest and lobbies behind this cause, including those of
landscape protection, nature conservation and ecological sustainability. By
engaging the population through associations in which the citizens become
partners and customers of regional energy supply companies – the interests of
different economic players can be integrated as well.
Economic factors provide further arguments for a comprehensive
expansion of decentralized renewable energies. Against the background of the
INTEGRATED MODELS AND PROCESSES IN GERMANY 175
existing economic system, the so-called free-market economy, decentralized

energy systems have to be seen in terms of economic laws, and therefore they
require implementation in an optimal scale. Undersized, i.e. small-scale or
isolated designs incur the opportunity costs of not benefiting from economies
of scale, while the over-dimensioned, supra-regional grids and networks incur
excessive transport costs and lower the system’s efficiency. This applies
especially, but not only, to the heating and cooling sector.
The application of a range of technologies in a regenerative energy mix
involves different players as well as spatial perspectives. The smallest spatial
level is the individual building – this field of activity already offers tremendous
opportunities for the utilization of renewable energies. The next largest scale is
that of the quarter, village or district. Mainly DH (or, in tropical areas, cooling)
and, to a lesser extent, co-generation networks are found here. A 100 per cent
supply within the electricity sector, however, is usually only feasible on the
regional level and the introduction of electric drive vehicles, which run on
renewable energies, will probably need an even larger scale of operation, since
vehicles also move out of their region of origin (see Figure 8.1).
Figure 8.1 Regional significance of energy types

Source: Moser and Hoppenbrock (2008)
These examples illustrate the required openness of a regional system, which on

the one hand has to provide a decentralized energy system for the region in ques-
tion, and on the other hand has to allow imports of electricity from other regions
(for example, from offshore windparks) – at least temporarily – to achieve the
100 per cent renewable supply. In terms of regional boundaries, the phrase ‘re-
gion’ should hence be treated very flexibly. In addition to the existing spatial-
organizational delineation of regions by existing programmes, political expec-
tations and planning controls, also cultural and society-oriented aspects play an
important role for energy regions.
The objective of a full supply – a 100 per cent target – suggests a regional
approach, as only at this scale can profitability for the required number of
generation points be expected. At the outset, smaller-scale units such as
quarters or municipalities can be of interest as well, since these can act as
‘breeding grounds’ or ‘beacons’ for a larger scale development process (see
Figure 8.1). But these approaches tend not to be economical – they need the
integration into larger contexts with a regional energy provider.
100% renewable energies in electricity, heat and mobility

A full regional supply with renewable energies is mainly obtainable through
the combined application of various renewable energies and drastically
reduced energy consumption, which also can be achieved by raising efficiency
and saving energy. The foundation for an increase of renewable energies
generation capacity and the proliferation of renewable technology in a region
is the development of a sensible, decentralized, renewable energy system.
Unlike the present, single-directional system of a few massive generators
networked to feed a myriad of passive users, the new paradigm is about
fostering numerous single but activating decisions: private photovoltaic
rooftop systems; biogas plants operated jointly by several farmers; cooperative
wind farms, in which many players of a region can participate as investors –
and so on. The decision-making powers and timeframes for the establishment
of plants can and will differ. They range from simple applications, which can
be prepared in a few weeks, to comprehensive permit procedures, which
require several years of development time. The most important precondition to
reaching the goal of a 100 per cent renewable region is the determination to
summon and apply the regional potentials in a comprehensive manner.
A growing number of German municipalities, counties and regions are
meeting these challenges, resolving to develop a 100 per cent renewable energy
target for their regions. Their 100 per cent targets at first often concentrate on
the electricity sector, but at the end of the process it can often cover heat and
mobility aims as well. Other important targets for regions are to reach ‘zero-
emission’ or ‘climate neutrality’. These objectives include a 100 per cent
renewable energy target as part of an even more comprehensive climate
protection target (for example, the Zero-Emission-Village Weilerbach).
Electricity
Germany leads in Europe when it comes to increasing wind and photovoltaic
energy supply. Renewable sources provide more than 14 per cent of German
electricity. But for some time now the national renewable expansion objectives
no longer satisfy many cities and regions; they aim at achieving a full supply
with renewable electricity, and rapidly.
Recently the long-known, theoretical potential for a full supply with differ-
ent renewable systems in the German electricity sector has been tested in an in-
dustry pilot dubbed the ‘Combined Renewable Energy Power Plant’. The ‘Com-
bi-Plant’ demonstrated that a purely renewable, distributed electricity supply re-
sponding to real-time demand is technically and economically feasible on a de-
centralized level and can be ensured to 100 per cent. The Combi-Plant is based
on digital networking and a centrally controlled balancing of different decentralized
renewable energy power plants. Eleven wind turbines, 4 biogas plants, 20 pho-
tovoltaic systems and one pumped-storage hydropower plant were connected with
each other via a central control unit. Thereby it was demonstrated on a small
scale – a ten-thousandth of the German electricity demand – that purely renewable
energy production can be adapted to the actual energy demand in 15-minute in-
tervals. It was shown in this way that wind, water, sun and biomass complement
one another powerfully (www.kombikraftwerk.de).
Heat
The full supply with heat energy will be achieved on a rather small scale and based
almost entirely on bioenergy. So-called bioenergy villages, deriving their biomass
heat sources from their surroundings, work extremely well in Germany (for ex-
ample the bioenergy villages of Iden, Oberrospe, Rai-Breitenbach or Mauenheim).
But in the planning and construction of the plants they often did not pay atten-
tion to any efficiency criteria, such as thermal insulation measures. Therefore the
criteria of sustainability have to be considered more carefully before the future
construction of energy plants (Moser, 2008a, 2008b; Scheffer, 2008).
Mobility
Renewable mobility is currently largely available only via bioenergy, such as plant
oil, biogas or ethanol. But the energy and climate efficiency of these bioenergy
products is poor, as vehicle waste heat remains unused. Great opportunities are
offered in the shift to electric vehicles at the regional level. In addition to affording
emission-free mobility they offer great opportunities in energy storage, load man-
agement and dispatch, as in the shaving of peak demands or the balancing of en-
ergy supply.
Mission statement ‘ideal region’: What are the most important

milestones?
Regions that wish to supply themselves entirely through renewably sources
need to embark on clear and determined strategies consisting of goals and the
steps required to achieve them. The integrated model of an ideal region is
therefore presented, designed as a desirable future vision and mission
statement, using diagrammatic scenarios.
Mission statements express strategic future objectives, to help coordinate

action. They are used in business, politics, science and increasingly also in
planning, where they provide agreed-upon conceptual frameworks for
decision-makers and the public. Scenarios have recently emerged as effective
tools of planning, and they are frequently used in the process of developing
mission statements (Moser and Meyer, 2002). They are sketchy but useful in
integrating various aspects of the future in tangible ways, as possible outcomes
of hypothetical course of actions or events. Scenarios serve to make potential
futures understood, both those that continue a present trend, and those that
envision alternative futures. They can provide visions for a comprehensive
development of entirely renewable regions – assuming that these scenarios are
both desirable and feasible. Forecasting scenarios can be used as well as those
that attempt the back-casting of steps or milestones required to lead to certain
outcomes (Steinmüller, 1997) (see Figure 8.2). But ultimately, the future is not
predictable, i.e. it cannot be planned in any determinist sense (Cuhls, 2000).
Similarly scenarios are at best mathematical or logical constructs of present
assumptions, and hence need to be looked upon very critically, because – as
experience shows – such scenarios, even when seemingly perfectly calculated,
have a very high error rate.
Forward-scenarios, or also the ordinary trend projections of the early
1990s that sought to project the role of renewables in the electricity mix, came
to much lower percentages for today than are already reached. But for the
planning of 100 per cent renewable energy regions scenarios are very
important, in the form of traceable, precisely yet imaginatively formulated and
visualized futures and development paths leading to these. While
acknowledging their limitations, the method of calculating scenarios can be
used as a planning technique from which strategic decisions derive.
Figure 8.2 Path of development for potential 100% renewable energy regions
Source: Moser (2008a. 2008b)
As a central and vivid future vision for a general description of a ‘100 per
cent renewable energy region’, the research team designed a positive, desirable
mission statement of an ‘ideal region’ that can be defined as follows:
A 100% renewable energy ‘ideal region’ covers its energy demand entire-
ly with renewable energies, is based on very high levels of energy efficiency
and includes the regional renewable potentials comprehensively. The en-
ergy supply is ecological, sustainable, secure and increases the regional added
value. Regional players are involved and a high acceptance for this way
of energy supply exists in the regional population. Regional key players have
framed together with end users, producers and practitioners the develop-
ment process, which leads to a comprehensive energy supply with renew-
able energies. For cost reduction and safeguarding the security of supply
they cooperate in a network with other ideal regions. Energy efficiency, sus-
tainable energy production and regional activities for an energy-conscious
behaviour are integral elements in the region. (DeENet, 2009)
A general mission statement such as this needs to be adapted to respective

regions with their specific local conditions.
Dimensions of an integrated overall model of 100% renewable

energies
Establishing 100 per cent renewable energy regions requires a holistic approach,
because regional energy policies concern a variety of institutions, especially when
the three sectors of electricity, heat and transportation are considered.
Offering a first overview of different approaches, levels and cross-references
between the given dimensions, Moser and Hoppenbrock (2008) developed a sys-
tem model for renewable energy regions (see Figure 8.3) that comprises differ-
ent topics:
• thematic dimension (economy, techniques, policy, sociology, ecology,
markets etc.);
• spatial dimension (building, quarter, village, town, district, region etc.) (see
Figure 8.1);
• normative dimension (100 per cent target, sustainability, regional
development etc.);
• temporal dimension (past, present, future, long-term future).
A decentralized production of renewable energies leads to many small units

that have a big impact on the landscape, and thus effects the perception of the
inhabitants. Decision-makers not only focus on one goal, but usually refer to
a variety of objectives such as regional development, jobs, CO2 decline etc. All
in all, the transformation of the energy system might turn out to be a task for
a whole generation. By considering the temporal dimension, the process
dynamic, the genesis, the latest developments and future visions are included.
It is essential to disclose that partial models and an isolated approach to

the subject are not sufficient to enlighten the interrelations due to the
complexity of the structures. Hence integrated systemic considerations are
necessary that combine the individual sub-models with an overall model. This
approach also emphasizes the necessity of back-casting scenarios and other
planning methods (see Figure 8.3).
Figure 8.3 Integrated model for achieving an ‘ideal region’

Source: Moser and Hoppenbrock (2008)
Guideline: How to achieve 100% renewable energy regions

Based on this model and further practical field experiences, it is possible to
outline criteria and critical factors that seem to be necessary or beneficial on
the way towards a 100 per cent renewable energy region. The suggested
guideline outlines regional fields of activity without ignoring the
interdependencies pointed out above. The following propositions are each
backed up with best-practice regions found among a sample of regions (see
Figure 8.4). Each of these regions is unique due to its natural resources, but
also in its mindset, its history, the political landscape etc. Therefore there is no
standard to meet or a special way to go. The guidelines include:
• Board decisions aiming at 100 per cent – usually municipalities in Germany
are enacting so-called 100 per cent resolutions on different administrative
levels. These are not only letters of intent, but comprise measurable
objectives, timetables and also financial resources.
• Exploration of renewable resources – evaluate the sustainable and accepted
renewable energy potentials, the efficiency potentials and possibilities of
energy saving, and calculate the (previous and future) generation capacity
and demands. Estimate the chances for realizing a regional 100 per cent
target by using different technologies. Setting the spatial range can already
be crucial to the process – a ‘minimum size’ is necessary for the layout of
100 per cent-targets.
• Spatial planning – after evaluating the regional potential for renewables it
will be necessary to integrate the increase of renewable energy aspects into
spatial planning.
• Pioneers and personalities – identifiable and competent persons take
responsibility and push the process. Along with local decision-makers, ‘the
early adopter’ or committed amateurs can play a decisive role as opinion
leaders promoting renewable energies.
• Added value – decentralized energy technologies, especially those financed
with regional capital and by different stakeholders, accumulate the added
value of a region. Especially among politicians and people outside the
ecological movement, this argument is a strong motivation to promote
renewable energies.
• Participation – regional inhabitants should be highly integrated into a
preferably transparent development process to achieve a high degree of
acceptance and team spirit and to avoid resistance to renewable energy
implementations. Besides good publicity, financial participation (civil
companionships) should also be taken into consideration.
• Entrepreneurship – the transition of the energy system depends on
entrepreneurship in the energy markets; regional or local administrations
can usually not be counted as economic players themselves. Thus it is
important to foster start-ups in the energy sector as well as their
counterparts – small companies that often emerged from agriculture or
crafts etc. Some German regions have successfully incorporated public–
private partnerships in order to be able to fulfil the role as municipal energy
suppliers, or to organize projects and plants.
• Beacon projects – the realization of single plants makes renewable energies
more tangible and establishes models that sometimes serve as a kick-off for
other projects, even in other regions. In addition they reduce prejudices and
sensitize the population to the implementation of renewable energies into
the landscape.
• Master plan – development and implementation of a master plan
(roadmap) with measures, interim goals and strategies. The unpredictability
of the future at this point allows a departure from strict scientific methods.
In order to develop concrete recommendations and decisions for the
conversion of the energy system based on renewable energies, creativity
supporting, intuitive planning methods of the futurology are reasonable
(see Figure 8.2). The adjustment of strategic planning is also necessary in
many existing areas, such as rural planning, agriculture or academia.
Examples of 100% renewable energy regions

Fully supplying regions with renewable energies has not yet been achieved in
Germany, not in any particular region, nor in any particular market (electricity,
heat or transportation). Still, a number of promising regional approaches have
emerged. Figure 8.4 shows an already impressive number of regional processes
that are currently of special interest to the research team. The regions on the
map are comparable only in the domain of defining objectives (100 per cent
more or less) and/or agenda setting. For instance, 100 per cent electricity at the
coastline of the North Sea seems feasible by wind energy, but solutions for the
heat market are still missing. The southern districts around Munich have
neither the potential nor the public acceptance for promoting wind energy, but
are focused on solar energy or bioenergy. Currently, 5.6 million people that live
in these regions are represented by a 100 per cent target and their number is
still growing.
Figure 8.4 100 per cent renewable energy regions in Germany (December 2008)
Source: deENet (Hrsg.) (2009)
The following three regions (marked in black in Figure 8.4) are very
different in their approaches to achieving the changeover to renewables, but
each of them has got a 100 per cent resolution and serves as a good example
of the ongoing process in Germany.
Model region Harz, Druiberg (2008)

The small town of Dardesheim in the Harz is in terms of figures already
producing 10 times more energy for electricity, heating and transport than the
1000 inhabitants of the town consume – some 40 times its electricity demand
alone (Uken, 2007). One third of household electricity is provided by ten large
photovoltaic rooftop systems. In addition tiny Dardesheim features the world’s
largest wind turbine: a 6MW, 125m giant. The municipality also operates some
electrically powered cars, fuelled with solar and wind energy, and the local
garages offer vehicle modifications from diesel fuel to vegetable oil.
With these implementations, Dardesheim has served as a nationwide
beacon and is now the centre of the first attempt to realize the ‘Combi-Plant’
in a defined region, named ‘model region Harz’. Together with nearby
windparks, biogas plants, a pumped storage hydropower plant and another
windpark with a capacity of 20MW (already approved), the supply of most of
the Harz region will be ensured by purely renewable energy production.
Further aims are to increase the regional productive capacity, create additional
jobs and stimulate investment by additional EEG-based regional suppliers, to
strengthen the employment base and promote tourism.
Energy turnaround in the Oberland region, Oberland (2009)

The region of Oberland is situated in the deep south of Germany, between
Munich and Innsbruck in the centre of the Bavarian Alps. In order to achieve
a full supply with renewable energies within the next 30 years, this region
established a civic foundation and is therefore a good example of a
participation model with strong regional players. This foundation with the
name ‘Energy Turnaround Oberland’ was recognized on the 7 November 2005
by the federal state government of Upper Bavaria as a non-profit organization
supported by 129 sponsors. The counties Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen and
Miesbach support it with a total of 20,000 members, and resolved to generate
its entire electricity demand from renewables by 2035. Almost 40
municipalities in these two counties participate in the foundation projects. All
municipalities, which have signed and will sign the resolution, commit
themselves to increasing renewable power and energy efficiency, in a drive to
enhance municipal independence and community engagement. The slogan
‘Energy Turnaround Oberland’ aims at full energy independence from energy
imports no later than 2038. The charter of the foundation also prohibits the
long-distance import of alternative energy such as bioethanol, palm oil or
maize-based fuel. The aimed-at turnaround is to be comprehensive, and
focuses on electricity as well as the heat and the transport sectors. At present
the following projects are being pursued:
• public solar power plants on public roofs, such as school buildings;
• a campaign for the insulation of single-family houses for energy saving (in
the private and public sector) and to increase wood chip, pellet and biogas
plants with CHP plants;
• guidance for municipalities to utilize the waste heat of deep geothermal
energy plants.
County Alzey-Worms: 100% renewable energy in 13 years

The county of Alzey-Worms covers an area of nearly 600km², is home to
around 125,000 people and consumes approximately 800 million kWh of
electricity each year. With support from energy service company juwi Holding
AG (that also researched renewable energy resources), it aims to produce its
entire electricity demand by 2020 from renewable sources. This target is
pursued in cooperation with a local association of municipalities and
communities as well as with the government, businesses, organizations and
inhabitants of the county. With the financial and organizational assistance of
juwi Holding AG, the construction of five two megawatt wind turbines, three
2.5MW wind turbines and two 500kW bioenergy plants is planned. At the
same time, a large-scale photovoltaic installation of 5MW is being prepared
and the expansion of private rooftop systems, also with a capacity of 5MW,
will be pushed. Significant efficiency increases and savings in the electricity
consumption of 12.5 per cent by 2020 are part of this plan (www.juwi.de).
References
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Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bonn
deENet (Hrsg.) (2009) Schriftliche Befragung von Erneuerbare-Energie-Regionen in
Deutschland - Regionale Ziele, Aktivitäten und Einschätzungen in Bezug auf 100%
Erneuerbare Energie in Regionen
DeENet (ed) (2009) Development Perspectives for Sustainable Renewable Energy
Regions in Germany, www.100-ee.de
Kröcher, U. (2007) Die Renaissance des Regionalen. Zur Kritik der
Regionalisierungseuphorie in Ökonomie und Gesellschaft, Westfälisches
Dampfboot, Munster
Moser, P. (2008a) ‘Bioenergiedörfer – Es fehlt an Effizienz’, Sonne, Wind & Wärme,
vol 18, pp78–79
Moser, P. (2008b) ‘Entwicklungsperspektiven für nachhaltige 100%-Erneuerbaren-
Energie-Regionen in Deutschland’, Lecture at the Berlin Energy Days, 5 May,
www.100-ee.de
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regionales Energiesystem’, in Bonow, M. and Wolfgang, G. (eds) Regionales
Zukunftsmanagement 2, Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp72–85
Moser, P. and Meyer, B. (2002) ‘Szenarienentwicklung und -operationalisierung für
die suburbane Kulturlandschaft’, UFZ-Report Nr. 21/2002, Helmholtz-Zentrum für
Umweltforschung, Leipzig
Rahmstorf, S. and Schellnhuber, H. J. (2007) Der Klimawandel. Diagnose, Prognose,
Therapie, 5th edition, C. H. Beck, Munich
Scheffer, K. (2008) ‘Vom Bioenergiedorf zur autonomen Solar-Region’, Solarzeitalter,
vol 4, pp23–30
Steinmüller, K. (1997) Grundlagen und Methoden der Zukunftsforschung, SFZ-
WerkstattBericht Nr. 21, Sekretariat, für Zukunftsforschung Gelsenkirchen
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Chapter Nine
Renewable Regions:
Life After Fossil Fuel in Spain
Josep Puig i Boix
On the day of the 2007 Summer Solstice, a group of Catalan NGOs made
public a study on 100 per cent renewable electricity supply for Catalonia
(Doleschek et al, 2007), the north-eastern region of Spain. The authors of the
study showed that to switch the present electricity supply system in Catalonia
to a renewable one would be within reach if appropriate policies were
implemented. Also, some time before, Greenpeace Spain had undertaken a
similar study for Spain as a whole (Greenpeace Spain, 2007).
But despite these inspiring studies, the Spanish energy situation is not going
in a good direction: increasing energy demand, lack of efficiency, CO2 emissions
out of control, mounting energy dependency on fossil fuels, to name just some
of the major problems. To make matters worse, the Spanish government never
took the responsibility of asking for a study to assess the challenges of supply-
ing the country’s electricity from a 100 per cent renewable system.
Why speak about a 100 per cent renewable energy supply? The answer is
simple: the present energy situation is unsustainable because it is based on non-
renewable sources that generate energy waste and emissions on a massive scale,
both in CO2 and nuclear radiation. Time is running out for shifting the current
energy path to a renewable one. Spain’s quandary epitomizes the paradox of
many countries that utterly depend on oil and uranium energy imports and fail
to comply with the Kyoto Protocol, while sitting on abundant renewable
resources: sun, wind, biomass, hydro, or in the words of Samuel Taylor
Coleridge (1898), ‘Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink’.
The current situation of renewable energy in Spain

Before the end of the 1990s, Spain began to deregulate energy markets and
adopted some national policies to develop renewable energies. A number of big
steps have been taken since then. The Law of the Electricity Sector (Ley 54/97)
fixed that at least 12 per cent of all primary energy should be covered by
renewables. The Renewable Energy Promotion Plan 2000–2010 was adopted
at the end of 1999 and fixed a renewables target of the equivalent of 9.5 mtoe
for the year 2010. The updated Renewable Energy Plan 2005–2010 (Plan de
Energia Renovable (PER) 2005–2010) was adopted in August 2005 and
increased the target for 2010 to 10.5 mtoe.
According to the Spanish Energy Agency (IDAE), at the end of 2007
renewable energy technologies provided 7.1 per cent of primary energy
consumption (3.1 per cent biomass, 1.6 per cent hydro, 1.6 per cent wind and
the remaining 0.8 per cent distributed between biofuels, solar thermal and
solar PV, geothermal and municipal solid waste. Regarding electrical energy,
the contribution for renewables was 20.5 per cent (9.8 per cent hydro, 9.0 per
cent wind and the remaining 1.7 per cent distributed between biomass, biogas,
solar PV and municipal solid waste).
If we take a look at each renewable energy source the situation at the end
of 2007 was as follows:
• Wind energy ranks first with more than 15,000MW installed at the end of
2007, with a 30.3 per cent increase from 2006. The goal for 2010
(20,155MW) will be easily reached and perhaps exceeded.
• Solar thermal, with almost 1 million square metres (700MWth) installed,
the goal set by PER of 3.5 million square metres in 2010 will not be
reached, despite the fact that more than 50 municipalities around Spain
have adopted Solar Energy Ordinances (City of Barcelona, 1999). This is
also despite the inclusion of a solar thermal obligation in the new Spanish
Building Technical Code (CTE – Código Técnico de la Edificación).
• Solar photovoltaics, in contrast to solar thermal, has experienced rapid
development in the last two years, reaching 554MWp at the end of 2007
(in contrast to 27MWp installed at the end of 2003). In 2007, solar
photovoltaics exceeded the goal of 400MW fixed by PER for 2010.
• Solar thermoelectric or CSP is also booming due to very attractive
premiums for developers. The first commercial power plant was
operational at the end of 2007 (PS-10, 11MW, near Seville), with the
second one (PS-20, 20MW) producing electricity at the end of 2008. Both
are based on tower technology, but the group building them, Abener, has
already started construction of two projects based on parabolic troughs of
50MW each (Solnova 1 and Solnova 3). Dozens of other projects are being
planned and building started; among them, Andasol 1 (feeding electricity to
the grid at the end of 2008) and Andasol 2 are the more advanced.
All these developments have been implemented in line with FiT policies since
the 1990s (RD 2828/98), and based on some policies adopted in the early
1980s (Ley 82/1980). But why have some Spanish regions developed
renewable energy assets while others have not, despite the fact that national
policies apply for all regions (RD 436/2004)? For example, and referring to
wind (see Table 9.1), some regions such as Castilla-La Mancha had more than
3000MW at the end of 2007 (or Galicia and Castilla y León with almost
Table 9.1 Wind power in Spain
Regions Surface Population Density 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2 2
km 2006 hab/km MW MW MW MW MW MW MW MW MW MW kW/km2 W/hab
Andalucía 87,598 7,975,672 91 115 127.8 150.3 158.1 163.63 233 361.63 448.24 606.56 1,459.71 17 183
Aragón 47,720 1,277,471 27 128 208.5 230.4 404.3 733.93 995 1,206.94 1,407.14 1,532.44 1,723.54 36 1,349
Asturias 10,604 1,076,896 102 0 0 0 24.4 73.72 121 146.00 164.01 198.86 277.96 26 258
Baleares 4,992 1,001,062 201 0 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.20 0 3.65 3.65 3.65 3.65 1 4
Canarias 7,447 1,995,833 268 80 81.8 114.7 120.4 126.92 128 129.49 129.49 133.24 133.24 18 67
Cantabria 5,321 568,091 107 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 17.85 3 31

3474 EARTHSCAN 100% Renewable:Layout 1
Castilla y León 94,225 2,523,020 27 16 122.2 228.2 352.9 634.93 924 1,523.17 1,816.87 2,122.91 2,818.67 30 1,117
Castilla-La Mancha 79,462 1,932,261 24 0 111.9 348.2 493.2 741.17 1,010 1,585.50 2,017.66 2,281.46 3,131.36 39 1,621
Catalunya 32,113 7,134,697 222 20 58.8 70.7 83.4 86.36 86 94.37 143.87 225.3 347.44 11 49
21/9/09
Comunidad Valenciana 23,255 4,806,908 207 0 2.8 2.8 2.8 20.49 20 20.49 20.49 333.99 590.94 25 123
Extremadura 41,635 1,086,373 26 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0

12:26
Galicia 29,574 2,767,524 94 232 438.1 600.5 937.7 1,314.99 1,579 2,102.21 2,369.28 2,619.64 2,951.69 100 1,067
La Rioja 5,045 306,377 61 0 0 24.4 73.9 203.52 272 346.87 408.62 436.62 446.62 89 1,458
Madrid 8,028 6,008,183 748 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0

Page 189
Murcia 11,313 1,370,306 121 6 6 11.22 11.22 11.22 32 48.97 54.97 67.72 152.31 13 111
Navarra 10,390 601,874 58 237 318.4 467.8 554.1 690.51 717 849.86 899.36 916.36 937.36 90 1,557
Pais Vasco 7,235 2,133,684 295 0 0 24.5 27 26.90 85 84.77 144.27 144.27 152.77 21 72
Ceuta 19 75,861 3,993 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0
Melilla 13 66,871 5,144 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0
Total 505,989 44,708,964 88 834.00 1,476.50 2,273.92 3,243.62 4,828.48 6,203 8,503.92 10,027.92 11,623.02 15,145.11 30 339
Source: Based on data from Asociación Empresarial Eólica

3000MW), while Catalonia had only 350MW? This is despite the fact that the
first Spanish grid-connected wind generator was designed, constructed and
erected in Catalonia in the early 1980s. Why has Catalonia not been able until
now to develop its wind potential, despite Spanish national renewable energy
policies that apply to the region?
In order to answer this question, it is instructive to learn from past
developments that have led to the present situation in Catalonia and compare
these with the case of Navarra.
Figure 9.1 Barcelona’s San Adrian power plant: The plant displays a sleek design, but
despite its much-touted credentials is still a relatively large polluter, emitting 513,193 tons
of CO2 annually at an output of 1.2TWh
Source: Juan Antonio Zamariipa Esqueda
LIFE AFTER FOSSIL FUEL IN SPAIN 191
The case of Catalonia

Catalonia is the north-eastern region of Spain, with more than 7 million
inhabitants (15.5 per cent of the Spanish population) living in 32,113 km2 (6.4
per cent of the Spanish area) with 222 inhabitants/km2. In 2007, more than 50
per cent of all the electricity it consumed was generated by three nuclear power
reactors (in the mid-1980s nuclear power provided more than 80 per cent of
all the electricity to Catalonia).
The first proposal for a renewable-based energy supply for Catalonia was
published in the early 1980s (Corominas and Puig, 1982) by people involved
with Ecotècnia. This study was inspired by a number of pioneering studies
(Lovins, 1977; Groupe de Bellevue, 1978; Todd, 1979; Morris, 1979; Taylor,
1979; Leach et al,1979; and Lönnroth et al, 1980) carried out in the late 1970s
by different groups in various countries.
In Catalonia, two examples show the impact of clear commitments by
local or regional governments to achieving results. The first concerns wind
technology and the second solar thermal energy. The case of wind involves a
private company, Ecotècnia cooperative, that has been successful in developing
wind technology since the early 1980s. The case of solar thermal energy
focuses on the city of Barcelona that has been leading the process to adopt the
first world municipal solar thermal ordinance, having made it mandatory since
2000 that all new and integrally refurbished buildings have to have solar water
heating systems. The full story of Barcelona Solar Ordinance has been already
published (Puig, 2008), but now details of the Ecotècnia case are published
here for the first time.
2008 will be remembered in the wind history of Catalonia as the year in
which the Catalan cooperative (pioneer of wind turbines design and
manufacture) Ecotècnia, integrated the international group Alstom. Almost
three decades had passed since a group of nine persons with high technical
qualifications, committed to environmental thought and the practice of
alternative technology, started to work to make possible the birth of a
cooperative with the goal of developing technology for using renewable
sources of energy.
It was in the late 1970s, within the framework of the energy crises and in
the constructive fever of nuclear power stations and multinational companies
looking for uranium in Catalonia, when a series of circumstances lead the first
people interested in the renaissance of the wind energy in Catalonia to get
together. In 1978, a graduate wind project (Meseguer, 1978) was presented to
the Engineers School of Barcelona. During the month of June, Navarra’s
Association of Architects organized a special event in Pamplona about
alternative energy (Autores varios, 1979), where Tvind School representatives
(from Jutland in Denmark) attended and explained their story of designing and
constructing a megawatt-size wind turbine with three blades (each 27m long)
on top of a 53m tower. Several members of the group, Tecnologías Alternativas
Radicales y Autogestionadas (TARA) (TARA, 1977), participated in this
conference and at the end of 1978, a Barcelona underground magazine

(Alemany, 1978) published an article explaining how the Danish Tvind schools
constructed and put into operation a megawatt-size wind turbine.
On 21 November, the Technical Commission of Energy of the Association
of Industrial Engineers of Catalonia was set up. Dr J. Corominas and I
attended its founding ceremony as both of us had been very active in initial
work of a wind energy subcommittee. From February 1979 until July 1984, I
acted as coordinator of this subcommittee and its members went on to found
Ecotècnia.
The wind energy subcommittee was very productive, for example, it
produced a paper (Puig, 1979) that was presented at the Catalan Conference
of Engineering, proposing a wind energy research plan, including a study of
Catalonia’s wind potential and even the testing of existing wind machines and
the development of wind technology. The subcommittee organized the first
Conference on Wind Energy in January 1980 (Comissió Tècnica d’Energia,
1980), where the engineer Lucien Romani was invited to explain the French
experience in wind technology, especially the experience of the 800kW Best-
Romani wind turbine that worked in Nogent-le-Roi (France) from 1958 to
1963, funded by EDF. Also a local manufacturer (Aerogeneradores GEMZ)
was invited, as was the builder of a pumping wind machine. The subcommittee
organized the first wind energy course in June 1980 (CPE-AEIC, 1980) with
members of the subcommittee as teachers. It produced several papers, (de
Cisneros, 1982; Departament d’Indústria i Energia de la Generalitat, 1981) on
wind energy that were presented at the Conference of Industrial and Energy
Policies and to the Conference on Studies and Technical Proposals for the
development of the technology and energy policies of the government of the
Generalitat de Catalunya (January 1981).
In this context a group of people started in the autumn of 1980 to nurture
the idea of creating a cooperative for the design and manufacture of wind
turbines. This became Ecotècnia. Ecotècnia was the culmination and
realization of a long process of debate about the relationship between energy,
technology and society. The group began to form in the late 1970s, involving
people who had been organizing courses, giving lectures and writing features
in magazines about energy alternatives to the official energy policies based on
the country’s push to nuclear power. In an article published in a Spanish
magazine, it was announced publicly that the Cooperative for Technological
and Energy Autonomy (CATE) would be set up (Alemany and Puig, 1980).
The debate about the creation of a cooperative structure to develop
technology for the use of renewable energy sources started in the autumn of
1980 and was inspired by authors such as Schumacher (1975), Dickson
(1975), Bosquet and Gorz (1977), Lovins (1979), the publications of the Open
University’s Network for Alternative Technology and Technology Assessment
(NATTA) and the magazine Undercurrents (Harper and Boyle, 1976).
In May 1980, the group of pioneers of Ecotècnia started making contact
with the Spanish government body in charge of technology development and
innovation, the CDTI (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico e Industrial) to

explore the possibilities of obtaining funding to carry out the technological
development of a wind turbine. In January 1981, they presented a first
proposal but this was not accepted.
The formal constitution of Ecotècnia cooperative was held in the city of
Barcelona, on 2 April 1981. The founding capital was 80,000 Spanish pesetas
(about €500), coming from 8 people. Ecotècnia’s mission was to offer a series
of products and services to empower, develop and promote a technology
within the reach of anybody, that would provide more autonomy to workers
and users, allow a better use of local resources and would be more respectful
of the environment, encouraging the use of renewable and non-polluting
energies that would not artificially bloat prices due to market restrictions, or
because of inferior management, and that would be open to participation and
that would be inclusive and egalitarian in the organization of the work needed.
The proposal submitted to the CDTI was ultimately not accepted but
nonetheless it had consequences: in August 1981 CDTI announced a
competition for the design of a wind turbine prototype of 5–10kW of power,
framed under the Spanish Innovation Plan that had been funded by the Spanish
government and the CEOE (Confederación Española de Organizaciones
Empresariales) (Ministerio de Industria y Energía y CEOE, 1981). Ecotècnia
started to work on its prototype in September and was one of the four winning
groups, together with Gedeón S.Coop., STS S.Coop. and IDE.
While waiting for the result of the competition, I joined in the 1981
European Wind Energy Study Tour of the US, the first expedition of European
wind experts to developments in the US, especially such pioneering outposts as
NASA’s Lewis Research Center, the Wind Test Plant in Rocky Flats, the nascent
wind farms in California and in the state of Washington.
The winning of the CDTI competition led to much pomp and ceremony,
but despite the signing of an agreement with the Energy Ministry’s General
Direction of Industrial and Technological Innovation, the contractual
document never made it back into the hands of the winners of the competition,
and neither did the prize money (€84,000). In order to avoid a public outcry,
the CDTI negotiated the funding of 90 per cent of the development cost of the
wind turbine prototypes with the four winners. Finally the collaboration
agreement with the CDTI was signed in July 1982, which made it possible to
implement the projects.
Two significant events accompanied this process: the publication in April
1982 of the first Spanish book on wind energy technology (Puig et al, 1982),
starting a series on alternative technologies directed by Ecotècnia, and second,
the first doctoral thesis about wind energy (Puig, 1982).
Finally the Ecotècnia 12/15 wind turbine was installed and connected to
the grid in the small rural town of Valldevià (Municipality of Vilopriu,
Comarca de l’Alt Empordà, Girona province, Catalunya). The wind turbine
was connected somewhat outside the legal context, since then there were no
regulations in place. It was a three-bladed wind turbine, each blade 6m long
(12m diameter), mounted on a 10m steel frame tower with 15kW of rated
power.
On 10 March 1984, the official inauguration happened, with a big party
on site. The party started at Vilopriu Town Council with a presentation of the
cooperative and of the project, accompanied by an ambitious slideshow on
wind energy and its role in modern society. Afterwards, the 500 guests moved
to the site of the turbine to officially switch it on, not without the obligatory
fireworks. TV coverage allowed everybody to witness the birth of modern
wind technology in Catalonia, and both national and local press reported the
inauguration of the renewable age.
For three years, Ecotècnia’s 12/15 wind turbine was a true test case for all
the components. The prototype was submitted to the Second Creativity’s
Award of the industrial engineers, and was rewarded with an honourable
mention (with the jury still preferring the wonders of the fossil fuel era for first
prize: a diesel locomotive designed for train shunting).
During the delivery ceremony of the prize in June 1984 in a Barcelona down-
town hotel, when receiving the award from Catalonia’s president, Ecotècnia quot-
ed a previous presidential speech: ‘No podemos volver a molinos de viento’ (‘We
can not return to the times of windmills’) (Noticiero Universal, 29 May 1982)
and spoke of the Californian example of building wind farms.
Ecotècnia 12/15 wind turbine was reported in some international wind
technology magazines. The newsletter of the European and UK Wind Energy
Associations (Windirections, 1984) put a picture of the Ecotècnia 12/15 wind
turbine on its front page and reflected it as a major event in wind energy
technology in Europe. Also, World Wind (1984) magazine published a full-
page article where it covered the inauguration and explained the story of the
competition. Also, in one of the first wind energy conferences, EWEC ’84
(European Wind Energy Conference and Exhibition, Hamburg), organized by
the EWEA (European Wind Energy Association), a paper was presented on the
evaluation of Catalonia’s wind potential and the development of a 15kW wind
turbine (Puig and Corominas, 1984).
The Ecotècnia 12/15 wind turbine was the basis from which the first
generation of Catalonia’s wind machines started to be manufactured (12/30
series), of which Ecotècnia sold and installed 29: 2 in the Castilla-La Mancha
region, 4 on a Spanish commercial wind farm, 20 in the Ontalafia (Albacete)
and Tarifa (Cadiz) wind farms and 3 more in Los Llanos, Figuerola del Camp
and Roses. All these wind farms were included in the first Spanish Renewable
Energy Plan (Plan Energético Nacional 1991–2000).
The accumulated experience, made it possible for Ecotècnia to undertake
the development of more powerful wind turbines, rated at 150kW. The first
prototype, designed and built with the support of the IDAE, was installed at
Tarifa, the most productive wind machine (kWh/m2) in Europe. With this
machine the second generation of wind energy systems was initiated, which
would be followed by the generations of 225kW, 640kW, 750kW, 1250kW,
1670kW and 3000kW (the official inauguration of the first 3 MW wind
turbine took place on 25 July 2008 in Les Colladetes, with the presence of
Catalonia’s President).
Catalonia started pushing wind technology with almost no support from
the Catalan government. It took more than 15 years to see the results of the
hard work done by people engaged with the idea that a modern society could
be supplied by renewables.
Now, more than 25 years later, the Catalan government continues to avoid
making any clear commitments regarding renewable energy sources. For
example, its recent Decree for the regulation of wind and solar photovoltaic
developments (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2008) was strongly opposed by the
main environmental organizations (Greenpeace, Ecologistes en Acció and
Eurosolar Spain).
The case of Navarra

The small Spanish region of Navarra (1.3 per cent of Spanish population and
2 per cent of the Spanish land area) with 58 inhabitants/km2, became over a
short period of time a leader in renewables (mainly wind energy) in Spain.
The process started in 1989 when the Navarra government decided to start
working to make the region a leader in renewable energy. The first steps were:
to assess the region’s wind energy potential and to create a small company,
EHN to develop small hydro sites in the region (more than 100 sites with a
power capacity of 195MW). EHN built its first wind farm (El Perdón) 15km
from the capital city of Pamplona in 1994. In the same year, the Navarra
government, through SODENA and with EHN and Vestas, joined forces to set
up Gamesa Eólica to supply wind turbines to EHN.
In 1995, Navarra adopted its 1995–2000 Energy Plan with a goal to reach
341MW of renewable energy capacity by 2000. The objectives of the Plan
were easily fulfilled and the year 2000 ended with 667MW of renewable
capacity installed, of which 474MW were from wind energy. At the end of
2006, the total renewable power capacity installed in Navarra was 1164MW,
of which 941MW were from wind on 32 wind farms with 1164 wind turbines.
Navarra is the location of several wind farm developers (Acciona Energía,
Eólica Navarra, Gamesa Energía, etc.) and wind turbine manufacturers (Acciona
Windpower, Ecotècnia, Gamesa Eólica, Ingeteam, etc.). Also this region has at-
tracted leading national centres specialized in renewables (CENER and
CENIFER).
Navarra is also leading solar photovoltaic development, since EHN teamed
in 1997 with other partners to create AESOL. This company developed the in-
novative concept of ‘huerta solar’ or solar farm involving ordinary citizens in so-
lar investments. By September 2008 it had developed 18 huertas solares, with a
power capacity of 61.5MW, involving more than 3500 people, mainly in Navar-
ra but also in Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Aragon regions.
The strong regional political commitment has made the region of Navarra
a shining example in renewable energy development. The policy context made
possible the formation of a close partnership between regional government,

private companies and financial institutions, and led to results in a short period
of time.
The results
From the above the differences between Catalonia and Navarra are evident,
despite both regions being subject to the same Spanish legislative framework.
The main difference is the commitment of regional governments: in Navar-
ra a strong commitment to develop renewable energy policies, in Catalonia no
real commitment at all.
The main conclusion of these stories is that local and regional governments
have to play an active role in developing renewable energies. Without active
renewable energy policies at regional or local levels and despite the active
involvement of other local actors and active policies at a national level, we will
never see a society based on 100 per cent renewable energy.
Another difference between these two regions is the question of energy
democracy. In Navarra a private company has created and developed a new
concept, enabling the ownership of renewable energy systems by ordinary
people. In Catalonia, no private company has followed that path. Only a local
NGO, Fundació Terra, started in 2007 to pursue the idea in Barcelona,
without any support from the city government.
The Solar Catalonia proposal

To reiterate, a pathway to a 100 per cent renewable electricity system for Cat-
alonia was proposed in July 2007 by a group of Catalan NGOs. The main goal
of the proposal was to pressure the regional government to change its regional
energy policies.
The objective of the Solar Catalonia study is to show that the region would
be able to supply its own need for electricity from renewable sources. This fact-
based vision of a future energy supply is very important to influence the
discussion about the change from fossil and nuclear energy sources towards a
sustainable energy system, especially, as the ongoing discussion regarding the
possibilities of renewable energy and efficient design has been negatively
influenced by data on the availability and potential of these technologies.
The goal of the project is to show that a sustainable, renewable and efficient
energy system is capable of supplying Catalonia’s current needs. The study does
not assume any major changes in lifestyle, living standards or demographic com-
position. There are no assumptions regarding future economic development in
terms of GDP or the like.
Although Catalonia has shown strong economic growth over recent years,
it did not perform well with regard to energy intensity. It is quite clear that
energy intensity in the Catalonian economy must be reduced in order to shift
to a sustainable energy supply and to make a contribution to climate
protection. The scenarios within the work highlight a development towards

halving electricity intensity in the three most important sectors of electricity
consumption until 2050. This means making great efforts to improve the
efficiency of electricity use, but the authors are convinced that this is feasible
from a technological point of view. Further technological development towards
more efficient appliances will assist such a development and in the
restructuring of our economies. Redefining the relationship between energy
consumption and wealth may be necessary but, in the end, climate change and
its serious consequences will force us along this path. One fact is quite clear:
we have to start now in order to keep the transition smooth and to avoid the
most serious consequences of climate change.
Taking this proposed course of action will lower Catalonia’s electricity
consumption to the 1993 level until 2025 and to half of 2003’s electricity
consumption by 2050. Although further reductions will be harder to achieve
the further we step into the future, a certain level of energy intensity will
remain. Reducing energy intensity by half sounds very difficult, yet this means
only undoing the increase experienced between 1993 and 2003. The remaining
effort of efficiency improvements does not seem like an insurmountable goal.
Two scenarios show the feasibility to achieve a fully renewable supply, one
until 2035 (Fast Exit Scenario) and the other until 2045 (Climate Protection
Scenario). This is not a matter of potential but of setting and pursuing
ambitious goals, encouraging policy and people and – of course – the financial
investments Catalonia and it’s people are willing to take. The scenarios show
that the financial aspect is not that big an obstacle as one might expect. With
an annual investment into renewable capacities peaking at €104 (2006 value)
per inhabitant in the Fast Exit Scenario and €85/capita in the Climate
Protection Scenario, the financial burden to achieve a clean, climate-friendly
electricity supply in Catalonia is moderate in the authors point of view; in
2030 investments would be €103/capita in the Fast Exit Scenario and
€68/capita in the Climate Protection Scenario.
These financial figures reflect the peak investments during the whole
development considered in the study. The calculation of the average annual
payments for the two different scenarios results in €58 per inhabitant a year
in the Climate Protection Scenario and €84 per inhabitant per year in the Fast
Exit Scenario.
Compared to the Catalonian GDP (€181,029 million in 2005) the annual
costs of the scenarios are 0.2 per cent of GDP for the Climate Protection
Scenario and 0.3 per cent for the Fast Exit Scenario, on average.
Any energy supply system must guarantee sufficient production and
distribution of electricity, heat and fuels to meet the demand for energy at any
time throughout the year, usually using different energy conversion
technologies. Energy is supplied in the form of electricity, heat or fuels, with
heat and fuels having the advantage that both can be stored for later use and
can be easily transported. So it is not necessary to consume heat and fuels
immediately or directly at the production site. Heat can be stored in thermal
reservoirs and distributed via DH networks. In contrast to heat and fuels,

which dissipate with time – thus setting a limit on storage time and distribution
distance – fuels from biomass or hydrogen do not have quite this limitation in
storage time or in transport (depending on the fuel type – solid, liquid or
gaseous), although some storage losses must be considered here as well.
The situation is completely different with electricity. The necessity of
producing enough electricity, on demand and on time, makes this type of
energy the most critical component in an energy supply system. While electrical
transport via the public grid is quite unproblematic, storing electricity directly
on a large scale is material and cost intensive. Also, storage in batteries and
accumulators can involve the use of toxic substances. Therefore this option is
not considered in the study as it is not appropriate for a sustainable energy
supply system. Indirect storage can be used, for example, pumped hydro
storage systems.
An energy supply system that is based almost completely on renewable
sources increases the focus on timely energy dispatch and supply due to the
fluctuating nature of some renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind.
Including such fluctuating sources into the public electricity supply means that
the power produced by those sources might decrease relatively fast. Of course
electricity production from fluctuating sources can be estimated by weather
forecasting but a portion of uncertainty still remains. Fortunately, there are
other renewable technologies with the ability to deliver energy on demand;
hydropower and geothermal power plants give direct access to renewable
sources, while co-generation and other energy sources can use fuel from
renewable sources (for example, hydrogen or biomass).
The challenge in designing a highly renewable electricity supply system (up
to 100 per cent renewable) is to find the combination where advantages of
each renewable source add up to a functioning and reliable system, while
disadvantages are balanced out. Especially in the electrical system the need for
reserve capacities, necessary as a back up for fluctuating sources, can be
minimized by choosing the right combination of renewable technologies to
minimize fluctuations. Demand management can also be introduced to get a
better alignment between production and demand.
In the study the authors only studied the dynamic behaviour of the
electrical system in the ‘Fast Exit’ scenario. This was done without optimizing
the electrical energy system. The simulation was done for four typical weeks
(in spring, summer, autumn and winter), with typical weather of the year 2006
(Generalitat de Catalunya, 2006). The optimization of the supply system and
the introduction of modern electrical grid management methods (for example,
demand management) will be investigated in a later study by Eurosolar Spain.
Considering the four simulated weeks as representative for all the four
seasons of the year, the supply system according to the Fast Exit scenario is
capable of supplying all the electricity demand in Catalonia. Generally solar
and wind performance levels are substantially higher during spring and
summer than they are in autumn and winter. Due to the strong spring and
summer performance of fluctuating suppliers (solar and wind), it is often the

case that photovoltaics, solar thermal power and wind energy can supply far
more than the total electricity demand.
During the winter, the adjustable suppliers have a dominant role as a result
of the decrease in solar radiation together with generally lower wind speeds.
Looking at the big picture, climate variation over the year, with strong solar
and wind performance during the warm periods, favours the system described
here because the adjustable suppliers (hydropower, geothermal and biomass)
have to contribute most during those times when they can be operated in the
best way. While a high utilization of hydropower coincides with higher
precipitation levels, geothermal and biomass plants can mainly be operated
during times when there is a high demand for heat, thus giving the opportunity
to take advantage of highly efficient CHP plants.
Figure 9.2 Development of electricity demand and two supply scenarios of Solar Catalonia
Source: Doleschek et al (2007)
General policy measures for going 100% renewable

The policy measures that the authors of Solar Catalonia propose in their study
will perhaps help to change the situation. Economic, legal and institutional
conditions for the energy system must fundamentally change and indeed this
must happen soon. In practice, we will need to rely on a mixture of instruments
and measures. In addition to what is described and planned, significant
additional measures have to be taken to realize a sustainable energy future.
General political measures

Below is a list of suggested general political measures that would facilitate the
path towards 100 per cent renewable energy supply:
• Adopt a set of rights and responsibilities that guarantee the democrati-
zation of the energy systems (see below).
• Develop a land use plan for renewable energies, based on a realistic picture
of renewable energy potentials.
• Establish preferential areas for wind energy, according to the potentials and
locations in each developed scenario.
• Assess and restructure the use of coastal areas for offshore wind energy,
focused on the best locations.
• Set up an energy supply regime that favours renewable technologies as the
first option whenever a new plant should be built.
• Give primacy of co-generation over conventional thermal power plants,
combined with biomass and geothermal use as the first choice.
• Give priority to using pumped hydro plants to support and compensate
fluctuating suppliers.
• Establish long-term electricity price guarantees for newly erected renewable
energy plants and a permanent review of FiTs for the different technologies
in order to keep the installation stimulus on a sufficient and technologically
diversified level.
• Start a ‘green government’ initiative in public buildings and public services,
with the improvement of energy efficiency in public buildings, with the
incorporation of local energy generation and the replacement of the car
fleet by most efficient vehicles, with priority give to biofuels, etc.
• Adopt energy efficiency standards for all electrical goods, with priority giv-
en to light bulbs and appliances (for example, all electrical appliances must
meet the energy efficiency of today’s most efficient appliance after two years).
• Establish a programme for promoting the monitoring and visualization of en-
ergy consumption (domestic, services level) in a way that will make consumption
visible to users and more understandable than the reading of meters.
• Introduce, without delay, education and training on renewable energies,
facilitating the fastest way to introduce and expand renewable technologies
with assured quality.
• Introduce financing, legal and fiscal mechanisms and regulations in order
to facilitate the above measures and technology research.
Besides the general policy measures it is also necessary to initiate concrete

programmes and commitments such as:
• Establish a micro-co-generation programme with ambitious targets.
• Establish a solar roof programme with ambitious targets.
• Arrange an annual green community competition regarding local renewable
energy generation.
• Arrange an annual ‘zero energy buildings’ competition.

• Establish a wind energy programme based on small (less than 5MW) wind
farms with ambitious targets.
• Establish specific commitments, goals and targets to use public buildings
for solar energy production and to start immediately emblematic or
‘lighthouse’ projects in the roofs and facades of the public buildings.
• Directly address celebrities/prominent entities to act as models and
champions for utilizing solar energy or renewable energies in general.
• Promote local energy self-sufficiency programmes prioritizing the combined
use of renewable energy resources existing in the area.
• Promote the development of a network of agencies or local energy centres
independent of public authorities and energy companies, but with their
participation, in order to pass the information about renewable energy and
energy efficiency to the population.
• Create equitable partnerships between rural zones and urban zones, given
that many rural zones could have a surplus of renewable sources of energy.
R&D has created renewable and efficient energy technologies for a permanent
energy supply. Together, the political community and industry must take
measures to implement a solar strategy. The measures described above are
feasible and make sense. The most important step is to start now, since every
day that goes by without enforcing a solar strategy only increases and compli-
cates the problem. Because energy consumption is increasing, money is still
being invested in fossil fuel systems and the finding of ways to solve the
problem of climate change is merely being postponed.
Energy and democracy

In current energy systems, the right of people to take decisions is not respected
and energy decisions are taken without any involvement of the people affected.
In order to democratize and help establish a decentralized or distributed energy
system in ways that are efficient, safe, clean and renewable, it is important for
a society to recognize a set of basic energy rights. These rights are:
• the right to know the origin of the energy one uses;
• the right to know the ecological and social effects of the manner in which
energy is supplied to each final user of energy services;
• the right to capture the energy sources that exist in the place where one
lives;
• the right to generate one’s own energy;
• the right to fair access to power networks and grids;
• the right to introduce into power networks energy generated in-situ;
• the right to a fair remuneration for the energy introduced into networks.
These rights have to be matched by a set of basic responsibilities:

• the responsibility to find out information;
• the responsibility to ask for information;
• the responsibility to generate energy with the most efficient and clean
generation technologies available;
• the responsibility to use the most efficient end-use technologies available;
• the responsibility to conserve and use the generated energy with common
sense, avoiding any kind of waste;
• the responsibility to limit oneself in the use of any form of energy;
• the responsibility to exercise solidarity with those underprivileged societies
that have no or limited access to a clean means of energy generation as well
as its final use.
Guaranteeing these rights should be one of the tasks to which governments

give absolute priority. Exercising these responsibilities should be considered the
fundamental duty of the responsible persons who depend on the sun as the
source of energy. By adapting lifestyles to the solar energy flows (both direct
solar energy and its indirect forms), people will discover that fewer costs of
every kind will have to be borne in order to sustain life and prosperity on
planet Earth.
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Chapter Ten
100% Renewable Transport
Andrew Went, Peter Newman and Wal James
In light of the mounting oil supply problem, the need to diversify the fuel sources
of our transportation industry is growing increasingly urgent. The most prom-
ising, scalable, near-term solution is to switch to electric propulsion. The emphasis
of our work so far has been on electrified public transport as the basis for tran-
sit-oriented development that can help transform cities into a less car-dependent
form (Newman and Kenworthy, 1999; Newman et al, 2008; Went et al, 2008).
The electric transit systems can then be switched to run on renewables and in
some parts of the world this is being done: for example, Calgary’s light rail runs
on wind power. Even if this is dramatically successful, cities will still have cars
and hence these, too, need to be switched to a renewable source of power. This
chapter looks at how a new approach to electric vehicles can enable cities to not
only have renewably powered private transport but how this can enable the city
to become 100 per cent renewable in all its fuel and power needs.
Electricity offers several key advantages over other alternative fuel sources
such as biofuels, hydrogen fuel cells, compressed air and CNG/liquefied petro-
leum gas (LPG) (Jamison Group, 2008). It is already ubiquitously accessible, re-
quires no significant technological breakthrough, does not compete with land that
can be used to grow food and can reduce mechanical complexity in the vehicle.
Furthermore, urban air quality is greatly improved as electric propulsion emits
no emissions from the vehicle’s tailpipe and, if the electricity is supplied from re-
newable sources, no overall CO2 emissions at all.
A new paradigm has arisen whereby the use of electric vehicles not only
solves these oil and emissions issues, it also provides the chance to bring
renewable energy into cities at a much larger scale than was possible before.
Thus there is the potential for electric vehicles and renewable energy to enable
cities to be carbon free. This combination of technologies is known as renew-
able transport.
Vehicle manufacturers have started to respond to consumer demand for more
efficient vehicles by introducing hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and battery elec-
tric vehicles (BEVs). An intermediate between these is called a plug-in hybrid elec-
tric vehicle (PHEV), whose battery can be charged from grid electricity, allow-
ing significant all-electric driving range with an internal combustion engine (ICE)
available for longer distances. The high price premium of current battery tech-
nology and the fact that the majority of vehicles are driven for relatively short
distances each day with the occasional longer trip, suggests that, in the near term,
PHEVs will see the most rapid growth in these new vehicle technologies.
When a number of these PHEVs are parked and plugged in, their batteries
represent a significant amount of stored energy that could potentially be fed
back into the grid, hence the term ‘vehicle to grid’ or V2G. A large penetration
of variable renewable energy (for example, wind and solar) in the grid will
require an increase in ancillary services as well as storage support to avoid
expensive fast-response fossil fuel backup generators when the renewable
supply drops. The batteries in PHEVs can provide these services almost
instantaneously upon request at low cost to the utility, and create a source of
income for the vehicle owners that can help to offset the price premium and
wear and tear on the vehicles. There will also be times when excess renewable
energy is available that the batteries can absorb rather than being wasted. Such
a system will require the use of sophisticated communication and control
systems, known as a smart grid, that can allow the two way flow of electricity
in a highly distributed system.
Hybrid technology: Green and gold

Civilizing the car has been an ongoing project in which many options have
been pursued. The use of hybrid technology combines the best of green goals
in terms of emissions and the best of commercial and consumer goals in terms
of power and performance.
A hybrid electric vehicle is one that uses both electricity and a combustible
fuel for propulsion. It is inherently more fuel efficient, to the order of over 30
per cent, compared to a similarly sized combustion only vehicle (DOT, 2008;
Consumer Reports, 2009). To achieve these increases, hybrids take advantage
of the complementary power generating characteristics of electric and ICEs at
different speeds. They utilize the maximal power of electric motors at rest,
which compensates for the corresponding minimum power available from the
ICE at rest. This enables the ICE to be switched off at low speeds, which is
where fuel consumption as well as all harmful emissions are at their relatively
highest levels. The engine in a HEV generally does not start until the vehicle
has reached a speed of 25 to 50km per hour.
Electrical assistance removes the constraint that the engine must match the
instantaneous power demands of the driver, enabling engines to be designed for
average power requirements, rather than the maximum. This allows much
lighter and more optimized engine designs since they are not exclusively
required to cope with extremes of operating conditions, i.e. low and high
speeds and acceleration. They are optimized to perform most efficiently within
a narrow operating range and are able to be kept in this position for longer due
to the electric assistance.
100% RENEWABLE TRANSPORT 207
Another efficiency enhancing measure is regenerative braking. It is the

reverse of the process of providing electricity to the electric motors in the
wheels, causing them to spin. When the brakes are applied the spinning wheels
turn the electric motor, which generates electricity and charges the battery,
slowing the vehicle in the process.
There are two main types of hybrids: parallel and series. In parallel HEVs,
both mechanical and electrical energy power a mechanical transmission. The
Toyota Prius is an example of a parallel HEV. In contrast, in a series HEV, only
the electric motor powers the wheels directly. The engine is used to generate
electricity for the motor and to recharge the battery. The lack of a mechanical
link between the combustion engine and the wheels simplifies the overall
design by eliminating the need for the conventional mechanical transmission
elements (gearbox, transmission shafts and differential). The GM Volt series,
due for mass production in 2010, will be a series of PHEVs.
The electric-only mode of series hybrids make them the preferred choice
for most city driving, but for driving long distances at speed, they lose some
ground due to the better efficiency of a mechanical transmission (~98 per cent)
over an electrical transmission at high speeds (~70 per cent efficient). There are
combined hybrid drive trains in development that can switch between series
and parallel mode to optimize their transmission for any driving condition
(General Motors, 2007).
Batteries
The main impediment to the widespread adoption of electric vehicles lies in
their batteries, as all other components in the vehicles involve essentially
mature technologies. Intensive R&D efforts have been mounted over the past
20 years to find this Holy Grail. The search now seems to be over. A new
generation of batteries based around an advanced Lithium-ion chemistry
appears to supply the energy and power densities required for an electric
vehicle battery to provide sufficient driving range without being too bulky or
overly heavy. They also have highly efficient charge and discharge cycles
(Inderscience Publishers, 2008; Kang and Ceder, 2009), can be charged
quickly, and have lifetimes comparable to other components in a vehicle, in the
order of 10–15 years (House and Ross, 2007; General Motors, 2008).
Furthermore the new chemistry has resolved the critical safety issues raised
with earlier Li-ion batteries (American Chemical Society, 2007). The lithium-
ion batteries currently available are superior to the lead-acid or nickel-metal
hydride batteries used in early electric vehicles in almost every measurable
performance indicator, except that the cost of these batteries is also much
higher.
The recent flourish of research interest and funding into battery technolo-
gy, spurred by the push for electric vehicles and demand for more powerful con-
sumer electronics, should lead to even further increases, with some significant
improvements already being claimed (Stanford University, 2007; American Chem-
ical Society, 2008a; 2008b). The CEO of Toyota recently stated ‘We are mov-
ing from the era of the gas tank to the era of the battery pack’ when discussing
the next generation of vehicles using Li-ion batteries (Toyota, 2008). Now that
the search for a battery suitable for electronic vehicle use appears to be over, the
advances in manufacturing techniques and technological optimization along with
economies of scale should see the price premium reduce considerably over the
next few years.
Plug-in hybrids: The next big step for cars

PHEVs are the next step towards a lower emission and more fuel-efficient
transportation system. They will have large batteries that can recharge by
plugging into the electricity grid using a standard wall socket, or a more
specialized charging station for rapid charging. This allows an all electric
driving range sufficient for a majority of short trips. An ICE is included to
extend the driving range beyond the battery storage capacity but need only be
engaged when driving longer distances. The all electric driving range can lead
to significant reductions in fuel consumption provided the battery size is
selected according to the daily commuted distance travelled. There is a trade-
off between increasing the battery for extended all electric driving range and
the size, weight and cost of these larger batteries. PHEVs will also have all the
other efficiency features of a regular hybrid.
The reduction in fuel consumption will depend on the particular driving
pattern of each vehicle. In an urban environment a typical day’s commute will
involve driving to and from work and may also include running some errands
or attending a social activity. An average daily driving distance of 30km is a
reasonable value for a predominantly car-dependent city with a substantial
suburban component and is assumed as the daily distance travelled in the
calculations in this chapter. A ‘utility factor’ is used to define the fraction of the
total kilometres travelled electrically. A PHEV30km, meaning an all-electric
driving range of 30km, was selected and should give a utility factor of around
50 per cent for average driving habits.
Modelling of the fuel efficiency in a mid-sized passenger vehicle – when
configured as a conventional internal combustion vehicle (ICV), a HEV and a
PHEV – has been conducted (Graham, 2001), revealing some startling
findings, especially if the full production cycle of the fuel is included, which is
known as the ‘well to wheel’ (WTW) energy (Simpson, 2005) and takes into
account the energy required to extract and refine the fuel. The electric energy
from the grid-charged batteries can be expressed in litres of unleaded petrol
(ULP) fuel equivalent.
The results of the study, illustrated in Figure 10.1, show that a HEV uses
30 per cent less, and a PHEV 65 per cent less fuel than the ICV, with a similar
saving on fuel costs. The PHEV also uses electricity, but in terms of energy
content, in litres of ULP fuel equivalent, is a small amount and is considerably
cheaper per kilometre travelled. The expected correlation between fuel use and
greenhouse gas emissions for the ICV and HEV are also clearly indicated,
however, the emissions from the PHEV will depend on how its electricity is
generated. If the electricity is sourced from a coal-fired power plant then the
overall emission reductions compared to the ICV are modest, but if the
electricity is from a clean renewable source then there will be no further
contribution to emissions and the PHEV will emit around 65 per cent less
greenhouse gases for the same distance travelled.
Figure 10.1 Comparative fuel efficiency and emissions for vehicles configured as ICV, HEV
and PHEV
Source: Based on Graham (2001) and Simpson (2005)
Regardless of how the electricity is generated, it is important to note that the

amount of greenhouse gases and harmful pollutants coming out of the PHEV’s
tailpipe are substantially reduced. Air pollution is a major problem in many large
industrialized cities, leading to poor health and respiratory diseases. Even if the
electricity was generated by a coal-fired power plant, the geographic relocation
of the greenhouse gases from the tailpipe to the chimneystack of a power plant
would lead to a huge improvement in air quality in the city itself. However, the
greatest source of greenhouse gas emissions is grid electricity generation, primarily
from coal-fired power plants. Any serious attempt at reducing total greenhouse
gas emissions must confront this cause as well.
The significance of the emergence of plug-in vehicle technology – bikes,
scooters, gophers and buses as well as cars – from an electric utility’s
perspective is that typically, the battery in an electric vehicle will be charged
overnight when demand is low and when renewable energy such as wind is
often discarded to avoid overloading the grid. Through this new market,
utilities can sell electricity to allow renewables to be harnessed continuously
and hence become commercially feasible, thereby enabling them to replace
coal.
Renewables and the electricity supply industry: Finding a dancing

partner
Renewable energy generation is seen by many as the saviour of the world’s
energy supply and climate change problems. Renewables such as wind, solar
photovoltaic and solar thermal, hydro, geothermal and wave power offer the
potential for virtually unlimited clean and cheap energy production. At current
prices the cost of wind energy will approach parity with coal-fired power
plants if the true cost of greenhouse gas emissions is factored in (Garnaut,
2008). However, fluctuating renewables such as wind and photovoltaics must
include a storage system if they are to be a substantial part of the future in any
city region. The potentially large storage supply in a fleet of PHEVs provides
a means to enable this storage to occur, and at little additional cost since they
are purchased primarily for transportation.
The particular mix of renewable options available will vary from region to
region, however, a diversity of generation sources spread over a large area
could allow a regular supply of renewable energy in much of the world’s
populated regions. Before renewables can be considered for supplying a
significant fraction of a city or region’s electricity supply there are several issues
that need to be addressed that require a more detailed look at how electricity
markets operate.
Electricity generators are divided into several categories based on the amount
of electricity they can produce, how quickly they can change their output and
the cost of the electricity. These are known as baseload, load following (or mid-
merit), and peaking generators (see Figure 10.2). Baseload generators are large
and hence expensive to build, but when running can produce large amounts of
energy cheaply. The momentum of a large generator makes it difficult to change
its output rapidly. Peaking generators are the cheapest to build but are more ex-
pensive to operate; this is one reason why they are only used during peak demand
periods. Mid-merit generators have cost and performance characteristics between
these two types of generators and increase output to cater to the normal ramp-
ing of demand as the day progresses.
Electricity demand is not constant throughout the day. It is generally
related to the distribution of working hours throughout the day and is also
temperature dependent. The heating and cooling of homes and workplaces, as
well as of water, have a significant impact on the daily demand profile, with at
least two distinct patterns. The summer profile typically peaks during the
afternoon when it is hottest and more people turn their air conditioners on,
while in winter two peaks occur, one related to heating workplaces in the
morning and another when people get home and heat up their houses.
There are other components to the electricity supply system that add
stability and generating capacity to the grid to ensure that supply and demand
are balanced as much as possible. These are collectively known as frequency
control ancillary services (FCAS) (Independent Market Operator, 2006).
Electricity networks must maintain ‘spinning reserves’ in case the demand
is greater than anticipated or if a large generator experiences a forced outage.

Typically, the larger a generator is, the longer it takes to warm up or increase
its output, often taking so long for a large baseload generator that they are
kept online continuously. However, the backup generators must be able to
respond in a matter of seconds to prevent blackouts and so are kept spinning
on a partial load, ready to be increased as needed.
Another ancillary service is called frequency control, also known as
regulation. It makes possible the fine-tuned balancing of the supply with the
demand. It is the most expensive service and must respond within seconds to
ensure a constant voltage and frequency supply. The system must be able to
supply small amounts of electricity to cover insufficient supply as well as being
able to absorb any excess electricity to prevent a potentially destructive
overload that could be caused, for example, by a large industrial consumer
suddenly switching off. These ancillary services represent an additional
expense on top of the cost of providing bulk power.
The amount of reserve capacity required is usually enough to meet the
highest peak demand of the year while the largest generator is unavailable.
Hence there is considerable oversupply of generating capacity in the system
most of the time, especially at night. The shedding of power into cooling
towers is thus necessary and is a heavy part of the needless production of
greenhouse gases in this old-style power production.
Working with variability

The limits on the penetration of renewables into the grid arise from their
variable output that requires an increase in ancillary services to ensure supply
and demand can be matched continuously. Computer modelling based on
weather forecasts can be used to predict the amount of electricity that can be
produced from a renewable energy site a day or more in advance and this
generation can be allocated to it by the network operator. There will be times
that the renewable supply will exceed its expected output. Without storage,
some of it would be discarded so as not to overload the system, since the
baseload generators cannot adjust their output in the same timeframe as the
renewable fluctuations. At the other extreme, if the renewable supply is less
than that forecast, and if storage is included in the system, the stored energy
can be used to delay or avoid the start up of fossil fuel backup generators.
While renewables such as solar and wind are variable in nature, they have
the advantage of being predictably variable. It is true that the output from a sin-
gle solar panel or wind turbine may vary considerably throughout the day, how-
ever, the statistical average of a large number of variable generators can be ex-
pected to follow a fairly smooth pattern, especially if they are spread out over
a large area to reduce the impact that local effects, such as cloud coverage or wind
lulls, would have on the group as a whole. The direct consequence of an increase
in renewables is therefore a more stable supply since a larger number of gener-
ators would exist and they could be spread over a large area. Furthermore, with
accurate forecasting, the amount of electricity that can be generated can be es-
timated fairly reliably. In Denmark, for example, where around 25 per cent of
its electricity is supplied by wind farms, the 24-hour-ahead forecasts have a typ-
ical accuracy of within 7 per cent, while the four-hour-ahead forecasts are cor-
rect to within around 5 per cent (Morton et al, 2005).
It is unlikely that the generating capacity from a renewable source will
drop suddenly and unexpectedly; it would typically be a more gradual and
predictable decrease, as in the case of the sun setting or a pressure cell moving,
causing wind speeds to change, on average, gradually. Should the largest
generator in a network ever stop suddenly, several hundred megawatts of
generating capacity would immediately be lost from the grid, however, even
this loss is catered for by the requirements on the spinning reserves. If a single,
or even several wind turbines were to suddenly cease functioning then only a
few megawatts would be lost. With regard to the reserve capacity for
renewables with storage, if the forecasting model is accurate then a smaller
reserve margin could be maintained without lowering system reliability.
The increased take-up of PHEVs could supply the storage required for the
reliable supply of renewables at low cost while also providing ancillary servic-
es. Since they would be able to feed energy back into the grid almost instantly
upon request, they would be able to provide frequency control as well as spin-
ning reserves, thereby eliminating much of the overhead operating costs associ-
ated with a large penetration of renewable energy into the grid. The increased
storage could also allow the shifting of peak loads, thus ‘flattening’ demand.
The existing electric infrastructure is designed for a small number of large
generators to power the grid. Output response is regulated by monitoring changes
in the frequency of the AC voltage; if it falls slightly, output is increased and vice
versa. A move to smaller, more numerous distributed generators of variable out-
put that utilize a fleet of mobile PHEVs for ancillary services will require an up-
grade in the infrastructure’s communicating abilities.
Smart grids: The clever link

With the storage problem essentially solved, the introduction of renewables in
large quantities still cannot occur unless an appropriate grid infrastructure,
known as a smart grid, is provided. The most general definition of a smart grid
is an electricity network that takes advantage of advanced two-way
communications and computer-automated controls to streamline the provision
of electricity services to consumers. A smart grid enables devices at all levels
from utility to customer, to independently sense, anticipate and respond to
real-time conditions by accessing, sharing and acting on real-time information.
Thus the appropriation of all the benefits of renewable energy, and most other
small-scale environmental technologies, requires this kind of smart control
system – it is known as the ET-IT connection (Newman and Kenworthy 1999;
Newman and Jennings, 2008).
Some of the benefits of a smart grid include: 1) increased operational
efficiency by reduced distribution losses via optimal power factor performance

and system balancing; 2) encouraging consumers to reduce their peak demand
consumption by enabling time-of-use (TOU) rates and real-time consumption
data; 3) allowing a wide variety of generation and storage options including
small-scale renewable energy feed-in (and V2G); 4) a more resilient and self-
healing network from fault anticipation and prevention; and 5) deferral of
capital investment on distribution and transmission upgrades due to improved
load estimates and reduction in peak load from enhanced demand side
response (DSR).
In order to implement a smart grid, the first step is the introduction of
smart meters. They not only communicate with utilities, but also extend into
the home, providing information to consumers about their real-time
consumption and can interact with ‘smart appliances’ also.
Governments and utilities worldwide are realizing the potential benefits of
a more intelligent electricity network and are similarly investing in smarter
rather than more powerful upgrades. Italy has 30 million; Canada and Sweden
have each committed to 5 million installed by 2010; California will have smart
meters for all residential locations by 2013; and Australia has also committed
to a national rollout of smart meters, just to name a few (Ministerial Council
on Energy, 2007). There are a range of options that vary in features and price
but the design of these smart meters should incorporate the ability to be
upgraded to streamline the adoption of expected advanced technologies such
as smart grids and V2G.
A smart grid extends the communications from occurring between the end
user and the utility to incorporating the substations, transmission networks and
various electricity generators throughout the whole system, which involves more
complex challenges. Already a substantially sized demonstration project is un-
derway in Boulder, Colorado (Xcel Energy, 2008). The city was selected because
it is a medium-sized metropolitan area (around 50,000 customers), is geographically
concentrated and operationally well defined in terms of its electricity infrastructure.
A number of options are being investigated to determine the optimum techni-
cal solutions. The project also includes integration of distributed renewable en-
ergy and a small-scale V2G demonstration (Parks et al, 2007).
Not only will a smart grid improve the operational efficiency, with the
associated environmental benefits of reduced greenhouse gas emissions from
polluting power stations, it also will provide the essential supporting
infrastructure for the myriad of two-way communications required for the
development of a fully integrated V2G network, or any large-scale deployment
of distributed generation infrastructure, that will enable a significant amount
of renewable energy sources to power the grid, cleanly and reliably.
V2G: The missing link

Smart grids and renewables linked to electric vehicle storage require the system
of V2G to draw them together. The general premise of V2G is that a fleet of
plugged-in vehicles represents a potentially significant resource that can be

utilized to allow the introduction of a substantial proportion of renewable
energy into the grid by acting as a buffer to regulate the variable renewable
supply.
Although the generating capacity of an individual vehicle’s engine is tiny
compared to that of a large power plant, their combined numbers makes the
combined capacity of a national fleet easily exceed that of its power plants.
Similarly, a fleet of PHEVs will have a significant collective storage capacity in
their grid-connected batteries.
Passenger vehicles are parked and perform no useful function for the
majority of the day. With the advent of PHEVs, either hybrid or all electric,
there is the prospect that idle vehicles can become assets that create value to
their owners while parked (Brooks and Gage, 2001).
The introduction of V2G can be done in three stages, introduced concept-
ually here as ‘supporting, shifting and stabilizing’, and are distinguished by the
number of vehicles available and the services they can provide. The adoption
of V2G by PHEV owners is naturally enhanced by the early stages being more
profitable, which helps to offset the price premium inherent in early adoption
of any new technology.
The first stage, supporting, involves the use of PHEVs to provide ancillary
services to the grid such as spinning reserves and frequency control. The
batteries and power electronics in PHEVs are particularly well suited towards
frequency control since the short, sudden demands on the battery are similar
to the demands of driving. The net energy transfer of frequency control is
typically zero, so only shallow cycling with minimal battery wear and no loss
of storage result from providing this service. Spinning reserve payments would
be made whenever a participating vehicle is plugged in, just for being available
and, should they actually be called upon, an additional price is paid for any
energy transfers. Spinning reserves could typically be required 20 times per
year for 20 minutes each, while regulation could occur 400 times per day with
small energy throughputs (Kempton and Tomic, 2005a).
Table 10.1 displays a comparison between the added initial cost of
hybridizing a vehicle, with and without plug-in capability, with the savings in
operating costs and revenue generated, as compared to a similarly sized ICV.
The calculations put the price of unleaded petrol at AU$1.50 per litre ($4.26
per gallon) and assumes the price will remain at this value. Any price increase
will effectively shorten the payback period. Table 10.1 shows that the payback
period, for a PHEV providing ancillary services can be as little as just under
two and a half years, even when the cost of extra wear and tear on the batteries
is included (Brooks, 2002). Significantly, although the payback periods for a
HEV and a PHEV not providing ancillary services are similar, the latter uses
only half the fuel and emits only half the greenhouse gases.
Table 10.1 Payback periods for HEVs and PHEVs compared to standard ICVs
Vehicle Hybridization Fuel cost Maintenance Total F&M Savings Payback Payback Payback
type cost AU$ AU$/year AU$/year AU$/year AU$/year (years) V2G Freq. V2G Sp.
Con. Res.
(years) (years)
ICV N/A 2224.8 300 2525 N/A N/A N/A N/A
HEV 4727 1555.2 250 1805 720 6.6 N/A N/A
PHEV 8457 182e + 777.6f 200 1160 1365 6.2 2.3 4.7
= 959.6
Note: e=electricity cost; f = fuel cost (ULP).
The second stage, shifting, occurs when a critical mass of vehicles have
saturated the ancillary services market, at which point the growing PHEV fleet
will begin to have a combined storage large enough to allow excess energy
generated during off-peak times (and prices) to supply the grid when it is under
strain during peak demand periods, when the cost of generating electricity is
much higher. This method of storing and shifting the energy supply is known
as ‘peak shaving’.
This is particularly relevant in the case of solar photovoltaic electricity
since the solar intensity peak typically precedes the demand peak by only a few
hours. The availability of a large amount of storage makes it possible to
reconcile this time difference in peaks and makes the argument for solar power
more attractive economically, especially if the value of the electricity generated
from it is compared to the cost of the peak electricity it displaces.
A typical scenario could involve a person driving to work in all-electric
mode, then plugging in to take advantage of the photovoltaic generation from
a solar panel on their office’s roof to recharge their batteries. This would also
allow income to be generated by supplying ancillary services and, should the
grid request it, automatically negotiate a rate above the minimum selling price
set by the owner. Energy would then be discharged from the battery to a
predetermined level of charge set by the owner in order to be able to drive
home in all-electric mode.
Even if an owner does not have access to a solar panel, she or he can still
profit by selling energy back to the grid. It is assumed that TOU price signals
will compel most PHEV owners to charge up overnight using cheap off-peak
electricity that can then be sold back to the grid later in the day at a higher
price, to the benefit of both the vehicle owner and the utility.
Using some of the stored energy in PHEVs during peak demand periods
will allow the utility to delay expensive additions to their peak power
capabilities that are otherwise so underused they represent a burden on the
total supply system that ultimately results in higher electricity prices. They will
similarly be able to avoid expensive upgrades to their transmission
infrastructure (transmission wires and substations) by meeting some peak
demand locally, thereby not adding to the strain on the network and reducing
transmission losses.
Furthermore, the use of electricity for private vehicle transportation

presents a new source of income to the utility that need not require significant
upgrades to their network if suitable incentives are in place to encourage off-
peak charging, known as ‘valley filling’. Because large coal-fired generators
take so long to warm up or change speed, at night when demand is low they
are often kept running faster than necessary just to ensure they will be able to
get back to full speed when people start using electricity the next day, and so
there is a lot of energy discarded as heat to the atmosphere and large amounts
of greenhouse gases are needlessly emitted. Consequently, directing off-peak
electricity to a useful purpose like recharging vehicles will reduce the amount
of wasted energy.
This combination of peak shaving and valley filling results in the daily load
profile having ‘higher lows’ and ‘lower highs’ and this results in a ‘load
levelling’ effect that allows electricity generators to operate closer to their
optimum conditions more of the time in a manner analogous to the efficiency
increasing measures achieved by HEVs.
The ultimate manifestation of V2G, stabilizing, occurs when PHEVs
occupy a large share of the vehicle fleet; their combined storage capacity being
large enough to buffer the variable supply from renewable energy sources
providing baseload energy. As more vehicles become available the services they
can provide move into a less profitable domain, however, by this time the price
premium on PHEVs should be reduced until they are likely to be only
marginally more than a comparable ICE-only vehicle, and the fuel savings
alone will still be a compelling reason to invest in a PHEV.
Wind power is currently the most competitive and widely scalable mature
renewable energy source (CSIRO, 2008), when compared to geothermal,
biomass or hydro. Calculations using the method proposed by Kempton and
Tomic (2005b) demonstrate the number of plugged-in vehicles required to
support a given penetration of wind generation providing baseload electricity,
as shown in Table 10.2. Since not all the PHEVs will be plugged in or fully
charged at any given time, the actual number of vehicles required will be
higher. The capacity factor (CF) of any electricity generator is defined as the
percentage of energy generated over a period of time compared to the
maximum possible energy that could have been generated. For a wind turbine,
provided it is in a suitable location, the CF can easily reach over 30 per cent
(Sustainable Energy Australia, 2004). In comparison, the CF of a typical coal-
fired power station is usually only around 60 per cent (ABARE, 2008). This
highlights the underutilization required by the reserve margins as a
consequence of there not being any storage in the grid.
The amount of wind power requested by the network operator can be
tailored to match the forecast output based on weather conditions. Wind speed
data modelling performed by Milligan (2001) on the operating reserves needed
for high penetrations of wind, assuming geographically dispersed sites, have
shown that a reserve margin of 15 per cent of the contracted generation,
available for a full three hours is sufficient to cater for fluctuations from
forecast output. Should a long wind lull be forecast then the utility can make
alternative generating arrangements. Additionally, since this reserve is a battery
(as opposed to a generator) it will not only cover shortfalls but also recover
excess output over what is contracted from wind farms that otherwise would
be lost.
Table 10.2 Wind capacity increases made possible, as a function of the number of PHEVs
Number Vehicle Vehicle Reserve Max. wind Average wind % Australia’s Greenhouse
of vehicles storage capacity installed output @ total generation gas reduction
(GWh) available available name-plate 30 per cent (29 GW). (Mt/yr)
(GW) for three (GW) CF (GW)
hours (GW)
1 12kWh 4.4 kW 1.46kW 9.75kW 2.92kW N/A N/A

1 million 12 4.4 1.46 9.75 2.92 10 26
2 million 24 8.8 2.92 19.46 5.84 20 52
3 million 36 13.2 4.38 29.19 8.76 30 79
4 million 48 17.6 5.84 38.92 11.68 40 105
5 million 60 22 7.3 48.6 14.5 50 131
Table 10.2 indicates that one million PHEV30kms would provide sufficient
reserve capacity to enable an additional 2.92GW of wind average generation
to the grid, which in the case of Australia would account for 10 per cent of its
total generation. This does not include the approximately 20 per cent of wind
penetration that could be currently supported by the existing reserve margins,
as has been shown by studies into the UK and German electricity networks
(Ilex Consulting, 2002; DENA, 2005).
Figure 10.2 illustrates a typical daily load profile for a possible future gen-
eration scenario in a fully realized V2G network. The generating portfolio con-
sists of a large amount of renewable energy sources: wind power and others, and
unspecified renewable sources as dependant on each sites’ particular situation.
A fleet of PHEVs is used to provide ancillary services, load levelling and reserve
capacity for the large penetration of renewable energy in the grid.
For the vehicles considered earlier, each PHEV will emit around 2.6t/year
of CO2 less than its equivalent ICV model if the electricity is sourced from
renewables, and hence 1 million PHEVs will emit 2.6 million tons/year less. If
this million PHEVs was used to support 2.92GW of wind average generation
then the greenhouse gas emission reductions, compared to generating 2.92GW
from a coal-fired power station, would be around 26 million tons/year. These
figures reveal that the greenhouse gas mitigation effect of V2G could be a
factor of ten times greater in the stationary power generation industry than in
the transportation industry.
To give renewables the best chance of being able to meet demand at all
times, a diverse portfolio of renewable generators, spread over a large
Figure 10.2 A V2G-supported generation portfolio with renewable energy meeting a large
proportion of a typical day’s electricity demand
Note: Note the distinction between baseload, load following and peaking types of generation
as indicated by the load output on the y axis
geographical area, should be established that is tailored to optimize the

particular renewable resources for each location. In theory, given enough
storage and sufficient renewable resources, there is no limit to the level of
penetration of renewables into the grid, up to and including 100 per cent.
Pathways to development: Taking the first steps with renewable

transport
The first step in realizing the goals of renewable transport is transforming the
vehicles themselves. The rate of uptake of PHEVs entering the market will
depend on a number of factors, including: the price of petrol; the cost of
batteries; the ability to scale up vehicle production; the availability of plug-in
infrastructure in parking areas; the prices paid to vehicle owners for providing
ancillary services; any financial incentive schemes by governments or otherwise
that will lower the price premium and accelerate their market share, which
could include tax cuts on low emission vehicles as well as encouragement for
the establishment of a retrofitting industry. Carmakers worldwide are currently
working frantically to develop and become market leaders in this new industry
of plug-in vehicles (Calcars.org, 2008).
Many electric utilities are beginning to acknowledge the need to adapt to
a new operating environment that takes into account the effect that greenhouse
gas emissions, from the burning of fossil fuels for electricity generation, have
on climate change. There is an urgent need to invest in electricity infrastructure
around the world, as many existing networks were built 40–50 years ago and
are now struggling to keep up with demand. These investment decisions must
have a strategic and sustainable long-term view and must not be constrained
by outdated definitions of energy infrastructure. Consequently, investment

priorities are now tending towards developing smart solutions to facilitate
increased energy efficiency and to develop on a significant scale embedded and
distributed renewable energy systems that capitalize on each region’s natural
advantages with respect to renewable energy sources.
A number of interesting opportunities arise from the electrification of the
vehicle fleet and subsequent relegation of oil-based fuels from the primary
source of energy for transportation to playing a lesser role in which the fuel
tank is regarded as a backup that may only be required occasionally. In this
case, fuels with a lower energy density such as LPG or CNG, with a shorter
driving range per tank of fuel, will appear as much less of a hindrance as they
may seem to be today. These fuels are cheaper and cleaner per kilometre
travelled compared to oil-based fuels and their utilization on a wider scale may
provide some insulation from volatile international oil markets. PHEVs using
LPG or CNG are expected to appear some time after petrol or diesel models
however, as they will require more extensive infrastructure to match the
availability of these fuel sources.
The introduction of PHEVs into the market is expected to be slow at first
due to manufacturing-side limitations. A retrofitting industry that converts the
legacy left from decades of ICE vehicle production, and more recent HEVs, into
PHEVs can accelerate their adoption and also create many new jobs and busi-
ness opportunities. As they will contain all the necessary power conditioning com-
ponents required to output electricity at the appropriate voltage and frequency,
PHEVs may also be attractive as uninterrupted power supplies for businesses or
as mobile emergency electricity generators for essential services such as lighting
and refrigeration to prevent food and medicines from spoiling.
The separate improvements of renewable transport, i.e. electric vehicle
propulsion, renewable energy technologies and smart grids along with their
greater combined effect due to V2G, provide the greatest opportunity for new
and existing developments to drastically reduce their carbon footprint. These
are the kind of dramatic synergies that can lead to exponential decline in the
amount of greenhouse gases being emitted – something that the world must do
if we are to avert rampant climate change.
To mainstream renewable transport, what is now required is a business
case with pathways and gateways for the introduction of PHEVs, smart grids,
V2G and the associated infrastructure and industry development as well as
detailed investigations into the policy implications of developing this next stage
of industrial innovation.
Policy implications of renewable transport

Renewable transport will not solve everything in the urban sustainability agenda
The breakthrough in technology we have called renewable transport solves the
problems of fuel security and air emissions both from smog and greenhouse
gases. It does not solve the social and economic problem of cities becoming too
car dependent nor the issue of traffic congestion. These problems can only be
solved by a better balance of transit (especially electric rail powered by
renewables) and pedestrian and cycling infrastructure as well as urban design
that can facilitate these modes such as transit-oriented development, corridor
development, polycentric urban forms, walkable street designs and sustainable
mobility management.
Renewable transport will require new policy partnerships

The partnerships required will be between:
• electric utilities, motor vehicle manufacturers and software companies to
generate the seamless technology linking transport to the two-way storage
and production of power from renewable energy;
• these technology providers and the land development industry who will
now need to incorporate it in their designs;
• public authority planning agencies who will need to regulate the provision
of infrastructure in homes, businesses and public spaces.
Renewable transport will require common good regulation

A whole series of questions will need to be debated and answered as part of
the renewable transport transition. These include:
• What standards will be required on the provision of plug-in facilities in
homes, businesses and public areas to ensure that there is consistency and
not rival systems?
• How much of a city’s public areas (streets where people park in particular)
should be provided with plug-in facilities and how much should this be left
to private parking operators to provide?
• What is required in terms of a government framework to enable this new
technology to be demonstrated and facilitated in an integrated land
development package?
• How can reduction of car dependence be linked to the provision of these
new facilities?
• What can be done to ensure areas of poverty are not left out while wealthy
eco-enclaves based on renewable transport are fitted out for the new
economy?
• How can renewable energy be introduced rapidly enough to make the most
of these new storage capacity opportunities?
• Will governments need to just facilitate this or regulate for a high
renewables provision as part of all new urban development in the era when
renewable technology is expected to take over?
The role of government incentives

Should governments (state or federal) provide incentives for the take up of
renewable technology (i.e. through rebates, reduction in stamp duty, parking
concessions etc.)? If so, will this be complementary with national or

international carbon trading mechanisms? One of the arguments of ET scheme
advocates will be that the market-based method is to ‘achieve abatement at the
lowest cost to the economy’, and therefore no other supports should be
required. But as has been shown in Europe, ET schemes are not the most cost
and prize effective, or fastest way to achieve uptake of the most effective
technologies. They are also notional ‘market mechanisms’ (albeit highly
artificial ones), and hence should not claim exclusivity over public incentives
such as tax credits. It is therefore recommended to apply at least substantial
public revenue signals (reduced or zero import and other taxes) to express the
civic benefits and reduced environmental and health costs over internal
combustion-based vehicles. Governments have a role to play in ensuring
standards and frameworks are in place, as well as managing the take up of
renewable technology.
Questions on standards and regulations include:
• How should national standards for renewable technology be developed (i.e.
the requirements for smart meters, charging points etc.)? The challenge will
be to match and align standards between national transport councils and
national design rules and utilities and vehicle manufacturers and software
companies.
• Could early movers such as companies like Better Place effectively set the
standards? Will this be the best outcome for utilities and government?
• Given that the vehicle manufacturers operate in a global market there
should be a global standard to manage interoperability of various systems,
while maintaining safety and efficiency criteria.
• Who should make the investment in smart grid technology – utilities or
renewable transport providers, or a combination of both? How will this be
managed?
Questions regarding managing the take up of renewable transport include:

• Should the take up of renewable transport occur in geographic clusters or
should it be spread across cities?
• What impact will clusters of renewable technology have on the grid?
• What is the potential for pilot projects; how should these be managed (i.e.
through government departments or through geographic clusters)?
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Chapter Eleven
Better Place
Peter Droege
In January 2008, the Israeli government announced a major initiative to switch

the country to electric cars, with the ‘Better Place’ concept and company as the
implementation platform, both developed by the software entrepreneur Shai
Agassi. Since then, Better Place has grown powerfully and gathered an extra-
ordinary momentum. What explains this success?
The long story of the electric vehicle is circuitous and has until recently
been beset by tragic setbacks. Whatever manoeuvres and incentive
misallocations have contributed to keeping the technology from becoming
mainstream, a major stumbling block has been the challenge of transcendence:
of overcoming the problem of realizing a new system within, or in spite of, the
framework of an old infrastructure. The Better Place concept approaches this
issue head on. It is a deceptively simple way to deal with fossil fuel dependency:
use existing technology and market forces to transcend the old petrol engine
by linking the initiative into a comprehensive, well-thought-out systems
framework. This pivotal switch promises enormous opportunities to the
energy industry, telecommunications, software developers and transport
finance, a change of potentially historic proportions. The Better Place story
provides a pragmatic yet visionary example of the ability of a few powerful
individuals to bring a bright idea to realization.
The change is so potent because it fundamentally shifts the very paradigm
in which one of the last unreconstructed bastions of early 20th century
technology and ownership models still operates: the worldwide automotive
system is based on a gargantuan and precarious petroleum refining and
distribution network feeding the global fleet of ICEs, powering close to a
billion motor vehicles around the world. A Better Place is, to date, the most
comprehensive business model, among the recently rising world of electric
vehicle suppliers, V2G planners and distributed mobile storage developers. It
is also uniquely innovative, and relies on focusing on the leasing of batteries
and the sale of access distance, or pay-per-mile service contracts, instead of the
sale of cars and petroleum.
The venture is the brainchild of Shai Agassi, the Israeli-American Silicon
Valley entrepreneur, who was in line to become co-chief executive of SAP, one
of the world’s largest software companies, after having sold his own start-up
company to SAP. Better Place’s inaugural project, its implementation of an
Israel-wide presence, was not the sole achievement of a single thought leader
but the coming together of a range of interests, security considerations, advice
by leaders such as Bill Clinton and Shimon Peres, and the willingness to fund
on a large scale, both at a corporate and a personal level. Better Place, a
company based in California, is to build the infrastructure, which is to involve
a national grid of charging points and battery exchange stations. A few
hundred vehicles were planned to be on the road in 2009 with production
evolving based on market conditions by 2011; Renault-Nissan is committed to
manufacturing the vehicles. The country’s largest holding company and global
player, Israel Corporation, initially invested $100 million, and Vantage Point
Venture Partners, Edgar Bronfman Sr, and James D. Wolfensohn jointly
contributed another $200 million to fund Better Place.
In 1990 the California Air Resources Board required that 10 per cent of
new cars be non-polluting by 2003. While the initiative did not succeed, it set
the stage for one of the most progressive energy policy frameworks. Inspired
by this relatively enlightened state policy background, Shai Agassi developed
the idea as part of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders forum.
Here the Young Global Leaders were confronted with the challenge of ‘how to
make the world a better place by 2020’. Agassi decided to focus on ridding the
world of fossil fuel vehicles, using only existing technology, the force of the
market and local demand, and a global proliferation strategy that would begin
in one country and quickly lead to adoption by others. The idea soon became
supported by Israel president Shimon Peres, who encouraged Agassi
personally, helped convince automaker Renault-Nissan to be a partner, and
assisted in raising the seed support needed to develop the concept into a self-
funding business.
The Israel concept is built upon a partnership-based revenue approach,
combining public policy innovation at the national level (tax breaks) and a
major car manufacturer, Renault-Nissan. Initially, a fleet of 50,000 vehicles, a
national matrix of 500,000 electric charging stations and 200 battery exchange
points are envisioned, to be ideally powered by solar thermal or photovoltaic
fields, wind and other renewable energy sources.
Project champion Shimon Peres sees Better Place not only as a pilot for
island applications, but also for larger industrialized countries. On 13 January
2008 the tax on electrically powered vehicles was lowered by 10 per cent to
encourage consumers. To make the concept a mass reality, Agassi’s idea is to
equip parking spaces with battery chargers; with 4 million parking spots in
Israel, most cars can be kept charged for most of the time. For longer drives
swapping a battery is to be as easy as filling up the car with petrol. The plan
is based on an innovative battery exchange system, eliminating vehicle
downtime for in-vehicle battery charging as required by plug-in hybrids or
other electric vehicles since today’s batteries have only a range of 100 miles.
BETTER PLACE 227
Figure 11.1 A Better Place fleet car

Source: Better Place, www.betterplace.com (2009)
Pilot consumers will have to purchase a Renault-Nissan vehicle and subscribe

to a Better Place service; Better Place will own the batteries. The concept is
described as akin to mobile phone subscriptions, whereby like the mobile
handset, the automobile itself becomes a secondary aspect to the primary focus
of the business: the future delivery of affordable electricity for transport.
Agassi assumes a battery’s life is limited to 1500 recharge cycles, hence the
cost of running an electric car would be about 7 cents/mile, less than one-third
of the cost of driving a gasoline-powered car, using 2008 prices. To overcome
the typical time lag problem in innovation in the car industry (car longevity can
easily exceed ten years, making rapid conversion to a new fleet impossible) the
proposal is to offer free or low-cost conversions by replacing combustion
engines with electric motors.
Within a year of announcement the initial Israel Corporation had also
begun a related joint venture with Chinese automaker Chery. Denmark soon
joined the Better Place programme, offering substantial tax incentives:
lowering taxes to zero, while gasoline powered cars attract a heavy levy.
Australia has also been added to the short but growing list of countries, with
investment commitments by Macquarie Bank and Australian natural gas and
energy utility AGL (see also Chapter 10). Better Place also successfully
showcased its work in Japan, and important partners in both Northern
California and Hawaii signed up at the end of 2008. Barely a year after the
company’s launch in Israel, Better Place was in discussion with more than 25
countries around the world. Since Barack Obama’s election as 44th president
of the US, Shai Agassi’s sights are set on helping to replace a good share of the
US’s 250 million passenger vehicles with electric cars. Meanwhile, competition
in business models and technology rises inexorably, and formerly reticent
automobile producers awaken to the electric challenge.
Research input: Robyn Polan
References
Better Place (2009) ‘Better Place’, www.betterplace.com
Kiviat, B. (2008) ‘Israel looks to electric cars’, Times, www.time.com/time/world/
article/0,8599,1705518,00.html
Markoff, J. (2007) ‘Reimagining the automobile industry by selling the electricity’,
New York Times, 29 October, www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/technology/
29agassi.html
Vlasic, B. (2009) ‘Mapping a global plan for car charging stations’, New York Times,
9 February, www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/business/09electric.html?_r=2
Chapter Twelve
How to Grow Food in the
100% Renewable City:
Building-Integrated Agriculture
Viraj Puri and Ted Caplow
Increasing global urbanization and population growth, together with

constraints on energy supply driven by climate change and resource limits,
have highlighted the need for more sustainable cities in recent decades.
Pressures on the rural landscape are no less serious, including mounting
burdens of water pollution, soil degradation and irrigation demand on a finite
agricultural base. As a response to both sets of concerns, bringing agriculture
directly into the built environment has the potential to reduce ecological
impacts, cut fossil fuel-based transportation, enhance food security, save
building energy and enrich the lives of building occupants.
Despite the absence of significant arable land in most cities, an opportunity
exists to produce meaningful quantities of food for large urban populations,
within the built environment. By combining technically sophisticated, com-
mercially proven controlled environment agriculture (CEA) techniques with
unique energy saving innovations, cities can feed themselves both efficiently and
cost effectively, while sharply reducing energy use and environmental impact.
CEA, also known as greenhouse agriculture, combines horticulture and
engineering to optimize crop production, quality and yield. Hydroponics, the
culture of plants in water, is particularly well suited for urban applications of
greenhouse agriculture. By employing environmental design, hydroponic
greenhouse methods can be adapted for use on and in buildings within cities; a
concept known as building-integrated agriculture.
New York City alone has approximately 14,000 acres of unshaded rooftop
space in its five boroughs (Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and
Public Policy, 2006). Based on modest commercial hydroponic production
yields (10 pounds per square foot average leaf and vine crop yields reported on
the Science Barge, New York City) and the per capita fresh vegetable
consumption in the US (173.2 pounds per capita, excluding potatoes; see
http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/datastorefiles/234-66.pdf), this unused rooftop

space is capable of meeting the vegetable needs of over 30 million people –
more than 3 times the population of the city. Building-integrated agriculture
has the potential to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in the production and
transportation of fresh fruit and vegetables while enhancing the livelihoods,
health and nutrition of urban dwellers worldwide.
Background
Increasing urbanization and the global construction boom have underscored
the importance of efficiency in the built environment. In the US, buildings
account for 39 per cent of energy use, 68 per cent of electricity consumption,
12 per cent of water consumption and 38 per cent of CO2 emissions (US EPA,
2004). Figures for Europe are similar (Balaras et al, 2007).
In a less tangible shift, the natural world is being marginalized and green
space is increasingly remote as people live and work in ever-taller structures.
Agriculture has an equally significant impact on our world. Modern
agriculture feeds billions of mouths every day, but is the world’s largest
consumer of land and water, the source of most water pollution, and the source
of an estimated 15 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions
(Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 2005).
Three major trends will strain the global food system over the next half-
century and place significant additional pressure on the environment. First,
according to official UN estimates, global population is expected to exceed 9
billion by 2050. Second, more than two-thirds of these people are expected to
be urban dwellers (Montgomery, 2008). Urbanization requires that food, once
grown and harvested, must travel hundreds or thousands of kilometres to
reach consumers. Fresh produce travels an average of 2500km to reach US
cities, adding to fossil fuel consumption, traffic congestion, air pollution and
carbon emissions (Pirog and Benjamin, 2003). Third, global warming is
predicted to lead to widespread shortages of food, water and arable land by
2050 within a broad belt extending north and south of the equator and
encompassing some of the world’s most populous regions (Parry et al, 2007;
UNEP, 2007; Brown and Funk, 2008; Lobell et al, 2008).
Today’s notion of ‘green building’ does not appear to be green enough, nor
widely enough applied, to reverse these trends. A more aggressive solution
could be within reach. Growing food crops on buildings could reduce our
environmental footprint, cut transportation costs, enhance food security, save
energy within the building envelope, and enrich the physical and psychological
comfort of building occupants and city dwellers.
Building integrated agriculture

Ecological sustainability requires minimizing the use of non-renewable
resources while protecting other species and their habitat. Building-integrated
BUILDING-INTEGRATED AGRICULTURE 231
agriculture is based on the idea of growing food in the built environment, using
renewable, local sources of energy and water.
This concept is a response both to the increasing energy burden and to
increasing energy price risk, which is particularly hard felt in the agricultural
sector, including CEA. Building-integrated agriculture also addresses ecological
and public health concerns surrounding conventional agriculture, including
climate change, high resource consumption, long distance food transport, food
security and food safety.
Hydroponics, the culture of plants in water, is a technically sophisticated
means of agriculture practised in most regions of the world. Essential mineral
nutrients are dissolved in the water used to irrigate the plants, eliminating the
need for soil. Without the need for soil, greenhouse facilities become
substantially more modular. Recirculating hydroponics, the most modern and
environmentally sustainable method, can produce premium-quality vegetables
and fruits using up to 20 times less land and 10 times less water than
conventional agriculture, while eliminating chemical pesticides, fertilizer
runoff, and carbon emissions from farm machinery and long-distance
transport (Vogel, 2008).
Figure 12.1 Recirculating hydroponics: The most water-efficient form of agriculture

in the world
Source: © BrightFarm Systems
Hydroponics is practised on industrial scales in The Netherlands, Israel, Spain,

UK, Mexico, Canada and the US. Commercial greenhouses in Almeria, Spain,
for example, where much of the salad crops consumed in the UK are grown,
cover an area of nearly 20,000 hectares. Today, there are over 1200 hectares
of hydroponic vegetables produced in the US, Canada and Mexico. In 2008,
the Fresca Group began operating a new 91 hectare greenhouse facility on the
Isle of Thanet, Kent.
Figure 12.2 Tomato crops under hydroponic cultivation

Crop quality and yield are largely a function of climate control within the
greenhouse environment. Maintaining constant temperature and humidity
levels in a greenhouse allows year-round crop production but also presents an
energy and efficiency challenge. In northern latitudes, wintertime heating
accounts for the majority of energy demand and CO2 emissions; nearly all of
this heating need is met using fossil fuels.
When compared with a conventional, slab-mounted greenhouse, rooftop
integration yields direct energy savings by eliminating heating losses through
the building roof and the greenhouse floor, and by capturing waste heat from
the building exhaust air. Special greenhouse design features, including double
glazing and a thermal blanket, can result in substantial additional reductions
in heating demand. Locating the project in a dense urban area, where
temperatures are warmer due to the urban heat island effect, also plays an
important role in reducing heat demand. The remaining heating needs of the
facility can be met using renewable fuels, such as biodiesel or waste vegetable
oil, virtually eliminating net CO2 emissions from heating.
In warmer climates, cooling loads present the energy challenge. A green-
house placed on the roof of an urban building provides a suitable space to imple-
ment a large evaporative cooling system for the combined structure. Without the
greenhouse, evaporative cooling systems would likely be unfeasible for the build-
ing due to constraints of space, humidity and/or cost. Energy can also be saved
in the combined structure by the elimination of solar gain and thermal losses
through the building roof, because this surface now becomes the floor of the
greenhouse, with approximately the same temperature above and below.
The electrical needs of a building-integrated agriculture facility can be met
by on-site solar photovoltaics. Solar photovoltaics are a particularly appro-
priate fit for CEA as peak electrical demand coincides with peak electrical
supply: strong sunlight on a hot summer afternoon. Electrical load can be
minimized by using natural ventilation, evaporative cooling and high-
efficiency pumps and fans.
As a result of these energy saving strategies, building-integrated agriculture
can produce vegetables with a lower total energy input, per kilogramme of
delivered product than either conventional greenhouse agriculture or
conventional field agriculture, and with a much lower carbon emissions
profile. The environmental benefits are rounded out by land and water savings,
and the elimination of fertilizer, pesticide and stormwater runoff in the highly
impermeable urban landscape.
Increased urban green space, in the form of building-integrated agriculture,
can also help mitigate the urban heat island effect: the phenomenon of city air
temperatures rising up to 10ºC higher than surrounding non-urban areas
because of the abundance of dark, heat-absorbing surfaces such as rooftops
and pavement. This effect increases the demand for air conditioning, which
subsequently increases emissions. Heat islands also increase ground-level
ozone, formed when heat, sunlight and air-borne chemicals mix, which
worsens symptoms of asthma, emphysema and lung cancer.
Building-integrated agriculture can reduce this phenomenon effectively by
reducing a building’s cooling loads through evapo-transpiration, as well as
reducing heating loads by adding mass and thermal resistance value to the
building. Rooftop greenhouses can often be more effective than traditional
green roofs, as the enclosed glazed area can act as a passive heat reservoir.
Building-integrated agriculture’s proximity to the retail market sharply
reduces transportation fuel consumption and associated air emissions, and
subsequently the public health impacts related to exposure to particulate
matter and smog. One of the highest rates of respiratory ailments in the world,
including asthma, is found in the South Bronx area of New York City. The
South Bronx is also home to the world’s largest wholesale food market. This
community contends with the emissions of 20,000 diesel truck trips into and
out of the market each week. Trucks often idle for up to 12 hours at a stretch
while waiting for goods or to comply with regulations.
Millions of city dwellers worldwide live in areas with limited opportunities
to obtain fresh produce. These areas tend to have the highest levels of diet-
related diseases: obesity and diabetes in developed countries, and anaemia,
scurvy and rickets in the developing world. As health experts continue to

recommend adding more fruit and vegetables to a healthy daily diet, it
becomes increasingly important that consumers have access to safe, high-
quality produce. Produce grown in sterile greenhouse conditions also reduces
or eliminates the risk of pathogens. The proportion of food-borne illness
associated with fresh fruit and vegetables has increased over the last several
years. Food produced in the city, for local residents, need not travel more than
a few kilometres, reducing the handling. This proximity to the end-user ensures
not only a fresher, more nutritious product but also greater control over the
food delivery chain.
As an added benefit, building-integrated agriculture can deliver much
needed ‘green collar’ jobs to urban areas. Creating thousands of green collar
jobs, such as building and operating greenhouse facilities, installing solar
panels and constructing green buildings, is an excellent way to fight both
global warming and urban poverty. The livelihoods of the disadvantaged and
the chronically unemployed in many communities under climate change
pressures can be stabilized or improved.
Horizontal rooftop greenhouses

Situating environmentally low-impact hydroponic greenhouses on new or
existing flat roofs in cities, provides the urban farm with more space than
would have been available at ground level. Hydroponic greenhouses are
relatively light and thus installation on rooftops does not normally require
significant structural reinforcement to the host building.
Figure 12.3 Rooftop greenhouse modelled on a supermarket

Applications for horizontal rooftop greenhouses range from commercial-scale

farms on shopping malls, warehouses and other large buildings, to smaller sys-
tems designed for schools and community housing. At a scale of 1000m2 and up,
a rooftop greenhouse can offer commercial fresh produce strategically located at
the point of consumption. Entrepreneurs can take advantage of resource efficient,
high-yield, year-round production with reduced food distribution costs.
Building-integrated agriculture can provide fresh produce to residents of
apartment buildings and community housing projects regardless of the location
of the nearest supermarket. Greenhouse facilities can be leased out to a com-
mercial operator, or operated as a community-supported agriculture (CSA)
system.
Figure 12.4 Rooftop greenhouse modelled on a residential tower

School and university rooftops are excellent sites for rooftop greenhouses,
yielding both nutritional and pedagogical benefits. Building-integrated
agriculture offers hands-on educational opportunities in the basic sciences as
well as environmental topics, and ‘green’ learning environments have been
demonstrated to improve student focus and performance. Onsite production of
nutritional vegetables provides healthy food for the student body, while
simultaneously emphasizing food quality and origins in the curriculum.
Horizontal rooftop farms are pragmatic and require little new technology.
The environmental benefits are significant: each hectare of rooftop vegetable
farm, if built in the US, would, on average, free up 10 hectares of rural land,
save 74,100 tons of fresh water each year, and if fully integrated with building
heating systems and onsite solar power, eliminate 988t of CO2 emissions per
year compared with a conventional greenhouse.
The vertically integrated greenhouse

The vertically integrated greenhouse (VIG) is a concept for a highly productive,
lightweight, modular, climatically responsive system for growing vegetables on
a vertical curtain wall facade that was designed by an interdisciplinary team
led by New York-based BrightFarm Systems, with contributions from the fields
of ecological engineering, plant science, architecture and HVAC engineering.
In the building sector, the double skin facade (DSF) is an innovation that
can reduce the energy used for space conditioning in modern high rise
buildings by up to 30 per cent (Streicher, 2005; see also www.battlemccarthy.
com). A DSF consists of a vertically continuous void space enclosed by a
second curtain of glazing over the entire facade. A double skin provides solar
heat in winter, buoyancy driven cooling flows in summer, and allows opening
windows year round. Despite these advantages, DSF applications remain
limited due to economic concerns and the need to install a large shading system
within the cavity to realize the full benefits.
Figure 12.5 VIG modelled on the 2020 Tower

Source: © Kiss + Cathcart
The VIG combines a DSF with a novel system of hydroponic food product-
ion for installation on new high-rise buildings and as a potential retrofit on
existing buildings. In this design, crops are cultivated behind a glazed curtain
wall on the southern facade of a building, on an array of horizontal trays
suspended on vertical cables. The VIG functions alternatively as an adaptive
solar energy capture device and a biological shading system, in winter and
summer respectively. Hence, in addition to producing food, the installed
plants, in effect, reduce building maintenance costs by providing shade, air
treatment and evaporative cooling to building occupants (Stec, 2005).
Figure 12.6 Lettuce crops in a VIG office facade

Source: © Kiss + Cathcart, BrightFarm Systems
By adding commercial-scale vegetable production, the VIG aims to sufficiently

strengthen the economic argument for the DSF, and thereby provide the
leverage necessary for widespread adoption of double facade technology. At
the same time, by meeting an ecologically significant share of the food demand
of building occupants, the VIG advances a more holistic set of expectations for
the performance of green buildings, which considers the resource consumption
not only of the building itself but also of its occupants.
BrightFarm Systems have developed a working prototype. New steps in the
development of the system include refining the design of an appropriate
irrigation system, developing a more detailed computational modelling of
Figure 12.7 VIG prototype undergoing testing

heating and cooling processes, selecting optimal glazing materials, optimizing

the structural design of the curtain wall and testing additional working
prototypes.
Constraints and next steps

The growth of building-integrated agriculture faces barriers to widespread im-
plementation, including appropriate sites, zoning and building regulations and
permitting, efficient distribution models, as well as certain technical challenges,
particularly with regard to robust, replicable energy saving innovations.
While small residential buildings or buildings with pitched roofs are less
likely to be worth the capital outlay of these systems, a careful look at the ur-
ban landscape reveals a significant amount of appropriately sized flat roofs on
supermarkets, warehouse roofs, school and hospital roofs or shopping centres.
Greenhouse agriculture does not address the efficient production of all
agricultural products. Hydroponic techniques are best suited economically and
logistically to a range of vegetables that include: leaf crops such as spinach,
lettuce and other salad greens; vine crops such as tomato, cucumber, pepper,
squash, beans, zucchini; and culinary herbs such as basil, parsley, chives and
coriander. These perishable crops travel a long way from farm to table and
need to be kept cold and fresh en route, increasing the energy burden. Most
vegetables have extremely high water content; shipping dehydrated storable
foods makes infinitely more sense than, for instance, tomatoes, with 90 per
cent water weight, across thousands of kilometres. Grains are better suited to
be grown in conventional field settings. Grains, however, can be stored for long
periods of time and can be shipped dry, without the need for climate control.
Furthermore, fresh perishable vegetables tend to suffer the most in terms
of taste and vitamin content from being transported long distances, or being
harvested before they are ready in order to allow for transportation. Even by
bringing fresh fruit, vegetables and herb production into cities, we can allow
millions of hectares of agricultural landscape to return to diverse ecosystems,
vital to the preservation of life on the planet.
Building-integrated agriculture is highly compatible with bioclimatic
design principles, advanced by architects and environmental designers, such as
Ken Yeang, over recent decades. Food crops grown on, and in, buildings can
provide heating, cooling and ventilation – services for the building that
decrease energy use while improving the microclimate around buildings. In
addition to thermal comfort and energy savings, food crops can enrich the
aesthetics and the psychological comfort of building inhabitants. Studies have
indicated that a ‘green’ work environment raises worker productivity by 1.0 to
1.5 per cent (Kats, 2003).
In addition to existing cities, building-integrated agriculture has a role to
play in new, planned urban developments, including ‘ecocities’. Ecocity is
increasingly being used to describe a development initiative aimed at
minimizing both external inputs of fossil fuel energy, water and food and
outputs of sewage, garbage, heat, pollution and CO2. Ecocities currently under
development include Dongtan in China and Masdar in the United Arab
Emirates. Integrated, ecologically sound food production systems would form
a central feature of the truly renewable ecocities of the future.
The past few years have seen the proliferation of green roofs and green
walls created by designers, architects, urban gardeners and artists for their
economical, environmental and aesthetic impact. From a more productive
standpoint, rooftop farms and vertical farms are being envisioned as new ways
to grow meaningful amounts of food for local populations. The widespread
adoption of urban farms requires continued research, development and testing
as well as the construction of working proofs of the concept.
Conclusion
Locating highly productive, environmentally robust food production systems
not only in our cities but actually on buildings, enriches the lives of city
dwellers, while offering a solution to some of the integral challenges facing the
100 per cent renewable city: reducing fossil fuel consumption; reducing the
environmental impact of growing food; reducing the distance food travels
before reaching urban consumers; and reducing the environmental impact of
buildings.
Figure 12.8 The Science Barge: A prototype urban CEA facility built by BrightFarm Systems
References
Balaras, C. A., Gaglia, A., Georgopoulou, E., Mirasgedis, S., Sarafidis, Y. and Lalas,
D. (2007) ‘European residential buildings and empirical assessment of the Hellenic
building stock, energy consumption, emissions and potential energy savings’,
Building and Environment, vol 42, no 3, pp1298–1314
Brown, M. E. and Funk, C. C. (2008) ‘Food security under climate change’, Science,
no 319, p580
Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy (2006) Powering
Forward: Incorporating Renewable Energy into New York City’s Energy Future,
Graduate study of the Urban Energy Policy Workshop, School for International and
Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York
Kats, G. (2003) The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings: A Report to
California’s Sustainable Building Taskforce, California Sustainable Buildings Task
Force, Sacramento, CA
Lobell, D. B., Burke, M. B., Tebaldi, C., Mastrandrea, M. D., Falcon, W. P. and
Naylor, R. L. (2008) ‘Prioritizing climate change adaptation needs for food security
in 2030’, Science, no 319, p607
Montgomery, M. R. (2008) ‘The urban transformation of the developing world’,
Science, no 319, pp761–764
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (2005), Emission Database for
Global Atmospheric Research, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency,
Bilthoven
Parry, M. L., Canziani, O. F., Palutikof, J. P, van der Linden, P. J. and Hanson, C. E.
(eds) (2007) ‘Summary for Policy Makers’, in Climate Change 2007: Impacts,
Adaptation, and Vulnerability, Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, pp11–13
Pirog, R. and Benjamin, A. (2003) Checking the Food Odometer: Comparing Food
Miles for Local Versus Conventional Produce Sales to Iowa Institutions, Iowa State
University, Ames
Stec, W. J. (2005) ‘Modeling the double skin façade with plants’, Energy and
Buildings, vol 37, pp419–427
Streicher, W. (2005) ‘BESTFAÇADE: Best Practices for Double Skin Façades’, in WP1
Report: ‘State of the Art’, European Commission, Brussels
UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) (2007) The Global Environmental
Outlook 4: Environment for Development, UNEP, Nairobi
US EPA (2004) Buildings and the Environment: A Statistical Summary, US EPA,
Washington, DC
Vogel, G. (2008) ‘Upending the traditional farm’, Science, no,319, pp752–753
Chapter Thirteen
Masdar City Master Plan:
The Design and Engineering
Strategies
Matthias Schuler
Big Oil to Big Solar: A city for the Masdar Initiative

Preface by Peter Droege
Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Initiative was launched in April 2008, a broad-
based, multi-billion dollar investment strategy in renewable energy and
‘clean technology’ (http://www.masdaruae.com). As part of the
initiative, the ‘Masdar City’ development is to be constructed 17km
south east of Abu Dhabi’s urban core, linked into the adjacent airport
and other surrounding communities. It is planned as a new and
independent urban center for a day- and night-time population of about
50,000, set within a larger precinct that is home to some 470,000
people. The development is pushing the ‘sustainable business park’
concept to a higher level of technological aspiration, theming it with
local climate response, efficiency and renewable energy virtues in
keeping with the scale that has become the hallmark of regional
projects, before the global financial crisis of the late 2000s struck, and
signs of overbuilding came to emerge in the wider region. While the
socio-economic and cultural dimensions - and risks - of attempting a
new town-within-the-city are by definition an open question, the
Masdar Initiative’s initial renewable city building ambitions were
extraordinary, promising to go far beyond public relations.
Four goals motivated the plan’s champions, the Government of Abu
Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (ADFEC): to
diversify Abu Dhabi’s economy; expand the country’s global energy
market reach; nurture new renewable technologies; and to contribute to
‘sustainable human development’. At the energy and economic end of the
equation it is hoped that Masdar will help save US$2 billion worth of oil
over the next 25 years, at the same time boosting Abu Dhabi’s GDP by
2 per cent. Carbon finance is expected to be a prime investment source.

The ADFEC headquarters were key to the business strategy, as was
the creation of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. This
organization conducted global research to support Abu Dhabi’s quest of
controlling a significant, diversified and integrated segment of the global
renewable energy industry. The physical development strategy of
Masdar City, described by one of the key contributors to the
development’s design in the next chapter, relied on trademark buildings
as core features: Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill’s solar powered Masdar
Headquarters building is hoped to generate more electricity than it
consumes. Initially budgeted at US$300 million, the 120,000m2
structure is to anchor the centre of the development. As a mixed-use
initiative it was conceived to house the Masdar offices, private
residences and a businesses support facility. ADFEC and WWF engaged
in an eco-promotional partnership in which Masdar City is being
assessed using the principles and objectives of WWF’s ‘One Planet
Living’ Programme, developed by WWF and the UK’s BioRegional
group. In January 2008, WWF and ADFEC presented the ‘Sustainability
Action Plan’ at Abu Dhabi’s first World Future Energy Summit.
The physical design concept is led by a design team headed by Foster
and Partners, involving transport planners, climate, renewable energy,
efficiency and infrastructure systems experts. Masdar City received the
first World Clean Energy Award from the Transatlantic 21 Association
and was named ‘Sustainable Region/City of the Year’ at Euromoney and
Ernst & Young’s 2008 Global Renewable Energy Awards. As one
typical example of the kind of ventures to be spawned in the complex,
a joint project on hydrogen development between BP Alternative Energy
and Rio Tinto was announced in 2008.
The project’s model city aspirations are pitted against the stark
reality of the global petrochemical legacy. The surroundings feature a
Formula 1 race track, a car oriented shopping mall and an aluminium
smelter. The wider Abu Dhabi urban system may receive positive
restructuring signals from Masdar City, as the attention inevitably will
need to shift to developing, infilling, refurbishing and enhancing existing
areas in equally visionary ways. The potential is clear: the time has come
to convert the anachronistic Formula 1 into Formula E - using electric
vehicles, and the emirate does have the capability of converting its
abundant solar reserves into say, global renewable hydrogen powered
eco-industrial production capacity.
The nomination of Masdar and its headquarter as central seat of the
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in 2009 further
brightens the spotlight on a promising beginning even further. The
Masdar initiative’s city precinct project shines brightly as the model for
all new development and building it hopes to become anywhere.
Research input: Robyn Polan
THE DESIGN AND ENGINEERING STRATEGIES 245
Introduction
A team made up of architects and transport planners, as well as climate,
infrastructure and renewable energy systems engineers, developed an inte-
grated design approach to sustainable urban planning. Foster and Partners
designed the 6.4km2 (640 hectare) precinct, which should eventually provide
living space for around 50,000 inhabitants, based on the principles of the
WWF ‘One Planet Living Sustainability Standard’. This standard also includes
the prescribed targets for the city’s ‘ecological footprint’. Masdar City will even
surpass the requirements of the ten sustainability principles: zero carbon, zero
waste, sustainable transport, sustainable materials, sustainable food,
sustainable water, habitats and wildlife, culture and heritage, equity and fair
trade, health and happiness. It is envisaged that the Masdar Institute of Science
and Technology will become a leading R&D centre for the application and
utilization of renewable energy sources.
Climate and culture: Reflecting the local conditions

Within the international design team, Transsolar Energietechnik is responsible
for climatic design. One of the first steps for a climate engineer is to carry out
an analysis of the environmental situation of the buildings and their
orientation. The next stage is to examine the cultural background, taking a
closer look at the standard types of urban design and buildings in the region.
In terms of their historical development, Dubai and Muscat represent the
reference cities for Masdar City. Built in a comparable climate, they feature
specific patterns: the buildings are separated by very narrow streets (practically
footpaths) and the squares are shaded, factors that minimize the exposure to
solar energy.
A range of strategies could be identified for Masdar City from the way that
local flora and fauna have adapted to the environment of the United Arab
Emirates: protection from the sun and dust, collection of dew for water gain
and reliance on a minimum amount of water. All of this research formed the
basis for the urban master plan.
A sustainable approach
Urban densification is the most important measure in the approach to
sustainability in Masdar City. It makes the greatest contribution to maintaining
low energy requirements in this hot, humid climate. It follows that the total
energy consumption must be met by renewable energy sources, and that all of
the materials used have to be recyclable. As the options for utilizing solar, wind
and geothermal energy sources are limited, energy demand has to be reduced
through technical solutions but also by lifestyle changes related to mobility,
expectations of comfort, the consumption of water, energy and materials, as
well as waste generation.
Figure 13.1 Artist’s impressions of a Masdar square

Source: Foster and Partners
Developing guidelines on energy and comfort

Generic models for streets and buildings were developed as the basis for the
urban design of Masdar City. These models, which allow for evaluation and
improvement, were analysed using flow simulations and daylight and shade
measurements. A similar approach was applied to the initial calculations of the
dynamic building load. This involved using specific construction methods,
internal and external loads and building utilization in the assumptions. The
loads were recalculated on the basis of the generic building typologies that
were developed; from this, the necessary adjustments were deduced to ensure
that the energy required would not exceed the amount that could be produced
on site.
Fresh air without heat

Banning cars with ICEs from Masdar City was a decision necessitated by the
carbon neutrality requirement for the project. This reduced the need for
Figure 13.2 Masdar master plan

mechanical ventilation in the city, which depends on, among other things, the
so-called heat island effect, a phenomenon caused by solar radiation and urban
emissions. Using an isothermal flow model, it was possible to determine the
optimum layout – length and breadth – of streets.
In order to examine the influence of the high solar heat ingress produced
by the photovoltaic roofs on the microclimate above the city, a simplified
model of a whole street was created. The results allowed conclusions to be
drawn about the layout of the streets and squares. The use of detailed models
made it possible to work out principles for producing a ‘cold island effect’ to
lower the ambient temperature. Additionally, a reinterpretation of the
Emirates’ traditional wind tower was created, which protects the street from
solar radiation and wind and can be used at the same time as a form of
ventilation.
Figure 13.3 The reinterpretation of an Emirates traditional wind tow and its possible
impact were studied using fluid dynamic simulation
The air quality requirements can be met and the local climatic conditions
optimized by using the proposed layout and dimensions for the city grid. Two
strips of parkland will run the whole length of Masdar City. These essential
fresh air corridors will allow both sea breezes and the cool night wind to
permeate the city.
Light without shade

Because of the high irradiation values in Masdar City, the interior and exterior
of buildings have to be shaded perceptibly, while not being too heavily blacked
out. Street widths, diameters of inner courtyards, building heights and the
proportion of glass facades were all calculated with the aid of sun path
diagrams, shade research and generic building models. All of the values were
compiled in a matrix in order to facilitate the development of building
typologies and their configuration. Finally, extreme conditions for direct solar
irradiation were calculated and analysed. The interpretation of the results led
the design team to conclude that daylight provision for the buildings should be
ensured via the inner courtyards, and not through apertures in the street
facades. This means that the streets can be narrow, which makes it easier to
achieve a thermal effect. All the inner courtyards need either flexible forms of
shading, in order to protect the microclimate from high temperatures, or
externally situated sun screens on the openings to the courtyard facades.
Building loads in the city

The layout of the city affects its climate, making it an important boundary con-
dition for the building load. This in turn is determined by the configuration of
the buildings, the construction style and the user-dependent internal and exter-
nal loads. This meant that each building typology required a separate form of
modelling, which took account of the internal user profiles and detailed weather
data. The values for air conditioning and electricity demand were identified us-
ing building simulation software and generic models. The boundary conditions
were incorporated in three iterative steps and the final building typologies were
specified. The resultant values for the overall loads were also important guide-
lines for the design of the central systems and utilities.
Planning changes
The original design of Masdar City consisted of two square areas: the larger
one was to be the urban zone and the smaller strictly a service centre. The
decision to use the smaller square for buildings as well meant that a large
section of the surface area designed for power generation was lost. A fourth
iterative step was then needed as a result of these restrictions to the energy
supply. Consequently new boundary conditions had to be established for the
building design and fittings, and additional guidelines for users defined. The
energy requirements had to be reduced in line with the decrease in the amount
of energy produced.
Limits: 80% reduction in demand

The target is an 80 per cent reduction in energy demand compared to the
current level in the United Arab Emirates. This has serious consequences for
the building typology – offices, laboratories, residential housing, retail outlets
and light industry units etc. The following three steps lead to sustainable urban
development based on carbon-neutral operations: reducing primary energy
consumption by 40 per cent through passive design techniques; optimizing
supply systems and energy consumption strategies, making a further saving of
30–40 per cent; and finally, lowering the remaining 20–30 per cent of primary
energy consumption through renewable forms of energy and active recycling
efforts.
Ambition
Once the design has been realized, the hope is that Masdar City can act as a
flagship that will inspire future imitation and thus have widespread impact.
The sponsors of the concept hope that such ‘carbon-neutral cities’ should be
reproduced on a global scale.
Credits
Client: Masdar-Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Mubadala Development
Company
Business plan: Ernst & Young
Urban design and architecture: Foster and Partners, London
Renewable energy: E.T.A., Florence
Cimate engineering: Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH, Stuttgart
Sustainability infrastructure: WSP Group plc, London
HVAC engineer: WSP
Transportation: Systematica, Milan
Quantity surveyor: Cyril Sweet Limited
Landscape consultant: Gustafson Porter
Site area: 600 hectares
Occupied land: 296 hectares
Floor space: 4.8 million m2 plus optional 1.2 million m2 (second square)
Chapter Fourteen
Urban Energy Potentials:
A Step Towards the Use of 100%
Renewable Energies
Dieter D. Genske, Lars Porsche
and Ariane Ruff
Today, attempts are made to develop sustainable urban areas that utilize only
renewable energies and thus contribute efficiently to the reduction of
greenhouse gases. The example of Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, presented in
Chapter 13, is an example par excellence, ready to cope with all environmental
challenges. However, Masdar City also still reads as a mirage – a single
showcase of the possible – while countries must also urgently cope with the
primary challenge: the introduction of renewable energies in existing cities.
These cities have developed over many centuries and where founded at times
when climate protection was not an issue. Paris, London and Berlin cannot
simply be rebuilt. Instead, smart changes in existing cities have to be
introduced, utilizing existing buildings and infrastructure and respecting
historic building substance. This task appears to be the real challenge,
especially since it has to be achieved in a participatory way, allowing citizens
to take part in and to profit from it.
The production of renewable energy needs space, which is rarely available
in cities. Is it? Our research has shown that, in fact, a lot of space is available,
even in a densely populated urban environment, and that these spaces may well
be utilized to produce renewable energy. They include derelict urban terrain,
roofs and facades, watercourses and wastewater, ambient air and exhaust air
as well as the underground. It is only a matter of finding these spaces in order
to identify their potential to produce renewable energy. Once these potentials
have been determined, the potential for reduction of greenhouse gases can be
calculated as well.
Since communities are rarely aware of their complete space potentials, they
can hardly assess the opportunities these spaces bear. Due to the variety of
renewable energy production strategies, these spaces can, however, readily be
utilized for energy production. By contrast, virgin land is consumed to produce

energy from non-renewable resources, often far away from the city where the
energy is needed. In addition, land is occupied for biofuel production that is
urgently needed for food production. Energy production extra-muros leaves
ecological and social footprints that will continue to grow and to exhaust the
resources still available. Realizing the upcoming resource and climate crisis,
many nations have launched national strategies of sustainability. In Germany,
for instance, land consumption is to be reduced to 30 hectares per day until
2020 while at the same time the share of renewable power generation should
be increased to at least 20 per cent and greenhouse gases should be reduced by
40 per cent as compared to 1990. This means that used land, i.e. brownfields,
but also so far unused blank spaces have to be screened for their suitability for
renewable energy production.
This chapter focuses on four questions: Which options of renewable energy
production are appropriate in an urban environment? How can they be
combined to find smart synergies? How much green energy may eventually be
produced in the city and its immediate surroundings? What will be the effect
on the climate?
Renewable energy in cities

There is a large variety of options to produce renewable energies. They
basically comprise the utilization of sun, water and wind as well as the
subground and manmade sources such as exhaust air or wastewater. To this
add the wide field of biomass utilization. Figure 14.1 gives a brief overview of
the options of renewable energy production, distinguishing between options of
power generation and options of heat supply.
Not all of these options suit an urban environment. The many criteria to
judge their compatibility include energy production costs, spatial efficiency,
availability, ecological impact, compatibility with the cityscape, acceptance by
the citizen, robustness against vandalism, landmark protection, ability to be
easily dismantled and legal complications. In the ExWoSt (Experimental
Housing and Urban Development) study carried out by Genske et al (2009d)
it became clear that the following options are suitable for the urban
environment:
• Photovoltaics and solar collectors may be installed on roofs and facades.
• Waterpower can be generated from rivers, canals and pipes.
• Shallow geothermal heat can be exploited with ground source heat pumps.
• Ambient heat, i.e. exhaust heat and exterior heat, can easily be exploited to
heat buildings
• Thermal energy can be extracted from wastewater already in the building,
or from the public sewer system or from the cleaned wastewater after the
sewage treatment plant.
• Biomass, especially biowaste, can be converted into power and heat. Co-
generation of heat and power increases the efficiency of the system.
A STEP TOWARDS THE USE OF 100% RENEWABLE ENERGIES 253
Figure 14.1 Options for energy production

Source: BBSR within the BBR
Note: E = electrical energy, T = energy, C = energy carrier.
The following options do not appear to be suitable:

• Large windmills are rarely erected in cities. They disturb the skyline and
occupy too much space, since safety zones have to be respected. However,
outside the city centre they may well be employed, as in historic times,
before the exploitation of fossil resources made them obsolete.
• Small windmills are not cost efficient (so far), since in most cases the city
profile is much too rough to allow for strong and stable winds. On roof
edges turbulence makes it necessary to elevate the windmills, which again
disturbs the skyline.
The following options depend on certain boundary conditions that have to be

analysed from case to case:
• Free-range photovoltaic power plants may only be considered sustainable if
the terrain cannot be used otherwise. Derelict spaces should be developed
to make cities more dense and compact and thus reduce land consumption
outside the city, instead of being blocked by photovoltaic panels. However,
on landfills or highly contaminated sites, photovoltaic plants may be an
option.
• Growing biomass in the city, especially energy plants and wood, only makes
sense if combined with measures of rendering the city more attractive. This
may, for instance, be the case if a derelict terrain is regreened with biomass
to cover an urban void that could deter potential investors (Dosch and
Porsche, 2008). In Erfurt, Germany, energy plants are grown in the city
centre as a means to encourage people to convert biomass into energy (see
Figure 14.2) (Schumacher, 2008).
Figure 14.2 ‘Power plants’ in Erfurt

Source: Ariane Ruff
A fundamental aspect is the investment associated with energy production. In

addition, the efficiency with regard to space consumption appears to be
crucial. In Figure 14.3 the costs of generating electricity are plotted across the
urban space needed. The upper limits refer to current costs, the lower limits are
cost predictions for 2020 (BMU, 2008). As can be seen, photovoltaics appear
to be highly efficient but rather expensive, whereas biomass is cheap but fairly
inefficient. A similar picture can be drawn for the options of heat generation
(see Figure 14.4). Here, however, the costs for generating solar heat – solar
collectors – are much lower. Rather inexpensive but still efficient are ground
source heat pumps. It has to be kept in mind that these graphs refer to urban
space. This means, for example, that photovoltaic panels are installed mainly
on roofs and facades with urban restrictions as mentioned above already
applied (Genske et al, 2009d). Because of this, optimal energy production
achieved with free-range installations is only possible in certain cases.
Figure 14.3 The demand on urban space to produce one GWh per year with options
of renewable power generation and the associated costs
Note: PV = photovoltaics. The upper cost limits reflect current prices,
the lower ones are predicted for 2020
Figure 14.4 The demand on urban space to produce one GWh per year with options
of renewable heat generation and the associated costs
Note: SC = solar collectors. The upper cost limits reflect current prices,
the lower ones are predicted for 2020
Assessing the potential of renewable energy production

Calculating the amount of energy that can be produced in an urban space is a
demanding task. The ability to produce renewable energy depends on many
factors such as the type of buildings, their density, the given infrastructure and
the applicability of technologies as well as natural aspects such as annual solar
radiation, geomorphology (for hydropower), wind speeds, geothermal
potentials, etc. In addition, different options of renewable energy production
can be combined to find synergies and thus increase and optimize the energy
output.
Approach
In order to assess the energy potential, the city has to be divided into
prototypic spaces such as ‘historic centre’, ‘business districts’, ‘residential
spaces’ etc. (Everding, 2007). Table 14.1 lists the 14 urban prototypes that
have been applied in this study. For these prototypes the energy demand has to
be assessed. In this approach it is assumed that measures for energetic
improvement have already been taken such as replacing inefficient windows,
repairing the roof, revamping the facades, etc., i.e., common measures of
renovation that are carried out once in a while. In Germany, renovations have
to be carried out according to the Energieeinsparverordnung (EnEV), a legal
framework introduced by the government to reduce the energy consumption of
buildings (DENA, 2008). We are thus assessing the future energy demand, i.e.,
the typical demand for heating (and cooling) of buildings and the demand for
electricity. Our projection refers to 2020.
Table 14.1 Urban prototypes

Class No. Subclass
Mixed types I Pre-industrial city/historic centre
II Building blocks of the 19th and early 20th centuries of the central city
III Post-war reconstruction (of destroyed buildings)
IV Village-like fractured structure
Living V Pre-war company housing
VI Social (subsidized) housing of the 1950s
VII High-rise apartment buildings of the 1970s and prefabricated block structures
(mainly former East Germany)
VIII Apartment buildings since the 1960s
IX Private homes/residential areas (single-family homes)
Business X Business and industry
Functional buildings XI Service buildings, office buildings, shopping malls etc.
Park and green XII Parks, open air sports grounds, city forests, gardens, graveyards
Agriculture XIII Crops and animals
Rest XIV
Source: Based on Everding (2007)
Furthermore, four ‘energy parties’ are distinguished: households, businesses

(trade, services, businesses), industry and mobility. Figure 14.5 indicates the
relative energy demand of these four energy parties in Germany. Our study
includes the first two energy parties (households and businesses). Finally,
discrete and diffuse energy sources are distinguished. Diffuse energy sources
neither cause material streams nor do they block any additional space, whereas
concrete energy sources consume spaces and trigger material streams. For
instance, photovoltaic panels do not occupy extra space if installed on roofs
and facades and do not trigger any material streams while in operation. They
are thus considered as a diffuse option. Growing biomass uses up spaces that
cannot be utilized for any other purpose at that moment and is thus considered
a concrete option. When analysing energy scenarios, only diffuse energy
sources are considered in the first place that are eventually superimposed with
concrete options that are already existing (for instance, a biomass power plant)
or may be introduced to satisfy local demands.
In special maps, the capacity to produce renewable energy is compared
with the energy demand. Since maps of renewable energy potentials are drawn
for the whole city, spatial energy deficiencies can be identified and balanced
with concrete options such as new power plants that rely on regional
renewable energy resources such as biomass or geothermal power.
Figure 14.5 Structure of energy demand in Germany according to energy parties

Source: BMU (2008)
Results
This approach to assessing the potential of renewable energy production has
been applied to a number of model regions including the cities of Stuttgart,
Leipzig, Gelsenkirchen and smaller cities in Thuringia. The portfolio of model
regions thus includes booming cities (Stuttgart), stable cities (Leipzig) and
shrinking cities (Gelsenkirchen and northern Thuringia). Since all these cities
are located in northern Europe, providing heat dominates the energy demand
of the two energy parties considered (households and businesses). In fact, more
than half of the energy consumed by a regular household is needed for heating
and warm water supply, while only one fifth is needed for electricity and one
third for mobility (BMU 2007). Heat cannot be transported over long
distances whereas electricity is mainly independent of the point of input. This
means that the heat demand has to be covered first in a decentralized way with
renewable options. Only after the heat demand is satisfied can options to
generate electrical power be considered. Practically, this means that at the
moment a surplus of heat can be supplied, roofs and facades may be utilized
to generate electricity with photovoltaic panels instead of heat with solar
collectors, thus yielding more urban-generated electricity and increasing the
degree of electric autarky.
The general strategy of deriving maps illustrating the potential of
renewable energy generation is depicted in Figure 14.6. Based on data such as
local statistics, historical maps, current city maps, aerial photos, service maps
etc., the city is divided into urban prototypes (of which 14 are applied, see
Table 14.1). For these prototypes, the long-term energy demand is assessed,
taking into consideration that at least one cycle of renovation has already
taken place. Thereafter, the corresponding potential to produce renewable
energy is determined with the distinction made between diffuse and concrete
potentials. Based on this, the ratio of renewable energy produced to energy
needed is calculated for both thermal and electric energy. Finally, the outcome
is visualized by means of a geo-information system. The resulting map is
applied to optimize the renewable energy supply of the city by including
existing energy infrastructure and planning additional concrete supply options.
In order to analyse a model region, typical scenarios are established. They
reflect simple situations such as the sole introduction of solar collectors
(scenario I) and the equally weighted introduction of solar collectors and
photovoltaic panels (scenario II), more sophisticated scenarios that include
further heat generating options (ambient and shallow geothermal heat,
wastewater heat) (scenarios III–V) and finally a scenario that adjusts the
prototypic share of photovoltaic panels and solar collectors to optimize heat
generation (scenario VI). In Figure 14.7 the city of Sondershausen, Thuringia,
is represented by means of the 14 urban prototypes and in Figure 14.8,
scenario VI is shown, both for thermal and electrical potentials. Sondershausen
has a population of 21,000 inhabitants and covers an area of 12,000 hectares.
The city looses about 1.0 per cent of population every year and is thus
qualified as a ‘shrinking’ city. High energy production can be observed in areas
of large post-war apartment blocks, business quarters and modern residential
areas with individual buildings (family homes), whereas the city centre with its
historic buildings as well as urban building blocks of the 19th and early 20th
centuries remain low in renewable energy production. In this scenario the
thermal autarky is 98 per cent and the electric autarky is 93 per cent.
Scenario VII includes additional concrete options for energy supply. It
takes into consideration a possible biomass co-generation power plant, the
Figure 14.6 General strategy of

deriving maps depicting the potential
for renewable energy generation
Note: GIS = geographical information system
extraction of heat at the outlet of the local sewage treatment plant and the
extraction of heat from an old salt mining shaft. The degree of energy autarky
can thus be pushed above 100 per cent, i.e. the energy demand of households
and businesses can be satisfied with renewable resources intra muros.
In addition, the reduction of CO2 emissions due to the introduction of
renewable energy generation is assessed. For the city of Sondershausen, about
88,000t of CO2 can be saved annually with scenario VII, i.e. some 2.5t per year
per inhabitant, as a first estimate.
Future research goals

So far, only two energy parties (households and businesses) have been
considered. The remaining two (industry, mobility) will be investigated in
research projects that have just started (Genske et al, 2009a). Investigations
into the energy party ‘mobility’ will include the idea of an electrification of the
traffic. Battery powered vehicles will serve as energy buffer to store and trade
regional surpluses of power production (V2G) (Engel, 2005). In addition, the
energetic functions of the immediate surrounding of cities will be examined,
thus turning the study from an urban into a regional one. In addition, the
assessment of CO2 reduction potential will be refined and also visualized with
appropriate maps (Genske et al, 2009b).
Figure 14.7 The city of Sondershausen divided into urban prototypes

Finally, a special research focus aims at identifying possibilities for financ-

ing the introduction of renewable energies. Special attention is given to the
participation of citizens in this process. Formats of investment are investigated
that let people participate in saving money and creating wealth with renewable
energies.
Conclusion
Our studies have shown that it is possible to both assess the long-term energy
demands for urban households and businesses as well as the potential of urban
spaces to produce renewable energy. We have introduced a strategy to visualize
these renewable energy potentials with maps covering the model region.
Degrees of energy autarky have been calculated for thermal and electrical
demands. The results are based on the analysis of six scenarios plus a seventh
scenario that includes aspects of already existing energy infrastructure and new
concrete measures of energy supply. For the model region of Sondershausen
(Thuringia, Germany) it was found that enough renewable energy can be
produced intra muros (within the city limits) to satisfy the long-term demands
of households and businesses.
Although calculations for the other model regions are still ongoing, it can
be stated that for bigger cities energy autarky cannot be achieved as easily as
for small cities. Nevertheless, in most cases this appears to be still possible.
Figure 14.8 Degree of energy supply to satisfy long-term demands for the city of
Sondershausen
Note: Depicted is the ratio of renewable heat generation to demand (top) and renewable power generation to
demand (bottom). The darkest shades indicate a high potential to provide renewable energy
With increasing prices of fossil fuels and improving green technologies, the
goal of self-sufficient cities that rely solely on renewable resources appears to
be within reach. The integration of the immediate surroundings of an urban
space will make it even more likely to achieve this goal. The introduction of
electric vehicles will help stabilize possible power fluctuations by means of
V2G technology, thus creating energy regions that sustain themselves with
renewable resources.
References
BBSR/BBR (2009) Nutzung städtischer Freiflächen für erneuerbare Energien (edited
by Dieter D. Genske, Thomas Joedecke, Lars Porsche and Ariane Ruff). Bonn,
Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung (BBSR) im Bundesamt für
Bauwesen und Raumordnung (BBR), 140
BMU (2007) Entwicklung der erneuerbaren Energien in Deutschland im Jahr 2007
(Stand März 2008), Berlin, Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und
Reaktorsicherheit BMU, 24
BMU (2008) Leitstudie 2008 Weiterentwicklung der ‘Ausbaustrategie Erneuerbare
Energien’ vor dem Hintergrund der aktuellen Klimaschutzziele Deutschlands und
Europas, Berlin, Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und
Reaktorsicherheit BMU (Bearb. J. Nitsch), 99
DENA (2008) Auf einen Blick: Der Energieausweis kompakt, Berlin, Deutsche
Energie-Agentur, 11
Dosch, F. and Porsche, L. (2008) ‘Grüne Potenziale unter blauem Himmel. Neue
Zugänge zur Flächenrevitalisierung und Freiraumentwicklung im Ruhrgebiet’, in
Informationen zur Raumentwicklung, vol 9, pp609–625
Engel, T. (2005) Das Elektrofahrzeug als Regelenergiekraftwerk des Solarzeitalters.
München, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sonnenenergie e.V. DGS, 6 (www.dgs.de)
Everding, D. (ed) (2007) Solarer Städtebau: Vom Pilotprojekt zum planerischen
Leitbild, Stuttgart, W. Kohlhammer
Genske, D. D., Henning-Jacob, J. and Ruff, A. (2009a) ‘3E: Erneuerbare Energien für
Städte - Ein interaktives Expertensystem’, Research project in progress for the
European Union (EFRE-TNA)
Genske, D. D., Henning-Jacob, J. and Ruff, A. (2009b) ‘Energetische Optimierung des
Modellraums IBA Hamburg’, Research project in progress for the Internationale
Bauausstellung IBA Hamburg
Genske, D. D., Porsche, L. and Ruff, A. (2009c) ‘Energieerzeugung auf urbanen
Freiflächen’, Altlastenspektrum, vol 6, pp259–269
Schumacher, H. (2008) ‘Power plants’: Energie-Pflanzen-Garten, Erfurt, FH Erfurt
(Flyer)
Chapter Fifteen
Closing the Planning Gap:
Moving to Renewable
Communities
Nancy Carlisle and Brian Bush
Many communities fail to meet their conventional energy reduction/climate

change goals (Bailey, 2007) because they focus on short-term, incremental
approaches instead of tackling the more challenging task of guiding the deeper
transition to a ‘renewable energy community’. As a result, even in many of the
most engaged communities, growth in energy use is increasing at a faster rate
than their savings in energy. Closing this ‘planning gap’ soon through greater
use of renewable energy is critically important to move to significantly more
energy efficient communities that are on target to meet climate change goals,
and imperative for those leading edge communities with the goal of meeting all
their direct energy needs.1
Incremental energy efficiency improvements are a necessary step to move
to 100 per cent, but should be only one step in a comprehensive overall
approach. Long-term planning is needed for communities to meet their needs
with increasing fractions of renewable energy. Implementation will require a
combination of strategies that include the application of renewable energy
technologies and energy efficiency practices; linking values in support of
reducing carbon-based energy use to human behaviour; and public policy to
further encourage greater use of renewable energy and reduction in greenhouse
gas emissions (which also address scarcity of resources and social equity
issues).
Figure 15.1 characterizes what we refer to as the planning gap. This is
defined as the gap between what a community needs to do to significantly
increase their use of renewable energy and the reality of what is currently being
done to actually respond to this need. Many communities develop goals to
promote greater use of renewable energy; yet their actions tend to focus on
near-term incremental approaches to improve energy efficiency rather than a
staged and fundamentally new approach to achieve far greater levels of energy
Figure 15.1 The planning gap

Note: GHG = greenhouse gas
efficiency and, particularly, integrated renewable energy. Community growth

in energy use is increasing at a faster rate than its savings in energy (Brown et
al, 2008).
In this chapter, we provide a working definition for a 100 per cent
renewable community, discuss the reasons why the move to a large fraction of
renewables is challenging for communities, provide examples of approaches
that various communities are taking to move toward greater reliance on
renewable energy, identify lessons learned from each example and describe the
common elements found in the most successful approaches, as messages to
communities who wish to make fundamental improvements to their practices.
We conclude with steps needed in terms of research.
100% renewable community: A working definition

The word ‘community’ is used in this chapter to mean a group of people of any
size that occupies or uses buildings in a specific location, has a shared focus and
some form of governance. A community could be a neighbourhood, a subdivi-
sion, a planned community, a military base, a university campus, a research park,
or a city or town. One challenging issue is defining the community boundary.
Our working definition for a 100 per cent renewable community is one
that uses renewable energy generated on-site or from a resource owned by the
community offsite or meets 100 per cent of the ‘direct uses’ of energy within
the boundary of the community for all buildings, community infrastructure
(energy for water, waste, lighting, etc.) and transportation systems. It is
assumed that these needs are met first through the use of energy efficiency, and
once energy efficiency is fully exploited, supplemented with renewable sources
MOVING TO RENEWABLE COMMUNITIES 265
(first onsite and then offsite). The timeframe to reach 100 per cent can be
phased as long as it is defined. We have excluded indirect or embodied forms
of energy within the community from the definition only because of the
challenge of measuring these at this point in time. Indirect uses of energy
within a community include energy for growing food, transporting goods and
energy embodied in materials and services.
The energy used for the community is measured by comparing a baseline
of energy needs for buildings, community infrastructure and transportation for
the community to the energy supplied on an annual basis from renewable
energy sources. Measuring is done on the basis of BTUs (British thermal units)
in order to compare all renewable energy supplied (for electricity, thermal and
transport fuels) to all loads to determine if the goal was achieved over a given
time period. In this way, for example, excess renewable electricity production
could be used to offset the use of conventional thermal energy or trans-
portation fuels used.
We can use the hierarchy for a grid-connected zero-energy building (ZEB)
as defined by Torcellini et al (2006) as a starting point for valuing renewable
energy options, not only for buildings but also for community-scale
applications. The hierarchy defines the relative value of various sources of
renewable power to serve a community. A ZEB is defined as a residential or
commercial building with greatly reduced energy needs through efficiency
gains such that the balance of energy needs can be supplied with renewable
technologies.
It is more challenging to define metrics for a zero-energy community than
a building because energy in communities is used for community infrastructure
and vehicles as well as buildings, and there are more types of fuel to consider.
It is a challenge to define what community energy uses are included in the net
zero calculations, the boundary for the community and the timeframe
necessary to meet the goal.
Table 15.1 follows the logic established by Torcellini et al (2006) in
applying the hierarchy for a net ZEB to the definition of a net zero-energy
community. The table includes options for transportation, community
infrastructure and modifying human behaviour. Option number zero (0)
includes strategies to reduce the energy load through either energy efficiency
and\or energy conservation strategies. These are the lowest cost strategies.
Supply-side strategies, beginning with Option 1, represent ways to use
renewable energy as a source of energy. Table 15.1 could be further quantified
by assigning multipliers to each source of renewable supply as a way to assign
value. For example, a solar thermal or electrical system located on a building
rooftop has a higher multiplier than the value of renewable electrical system
located near, but not on, the buildings due to the higher line losses from a
renewable system that is near the building. Likewise a biomass boiler serving
a community would have a lower multiplier to account for the transport of the
biomass fuel to the site.
Table 15.1 Conventional energy reduction options hierarchy for a community

Option Demand- and supply-side Examples
number options
0 Reduce building and infrastructure site Buildings technologies – use of daylight, high-efficiency HVAC
energy use through low-energy building equipment, natural ventilation, evaporative cooling, insulation etc.
technologies for new construction; energy Aggressive energy efficiency standards for all construction.
retrofits for existing buildings and reduce
vehicle miles travelled for vehicles. Behaviour – Turn lights and equipment off at night, metering,
commissioning and retro-commissioning; provide customers with feedback
on power usage; turn off vampire loads in buildings at night and when
buildings are not occupied.
Vehicles – Use alternative transportation, advanced vehicles and fuels;

maintain and operate vehicles to maximize vehicle efficiency; form car-
sharing clubs; provide and plan for alternative transportation and access to
mass transit within the community.
Infrastructure – LED traffic lights, high efficiency pumps. Utilities are

installing smart grids to provide user feedback regarding energy use and
impact on their energy costs.
Caveats – Plug loads in homes and offices are constantly growing; smart
grid monitoring always on and, therefore, increase overall loads.
Onsite Supply Options
1 Use renewable energy sources available Buildings – Photovoltaics, solar hot water, ground source heat pumps
within the building’s footprint as the located on the building and connected to building systems.
first priority.
Behaviour – Consumers with renewable systems located on their buildings
tend to conserve more because they are more aware of how they use
energy.
Vehicles – Use electric or (when available) plug-in hybrid vehicles from on-
site-generated renewable energy and/or use alternative fuels in a flex fuel
vehicle or use electricity from grid to charge the vehicles when renewable
energy is unavailable.
Infrastructure – Use renewable energy to power street lights, monitors and

meters.
Caveat – In order to maximize roof area for solar, orientation and street
layouts, need to be considered; passive solar design features can
significantly reduce heating, air-conditioning and lighting loads.
2 Use renewable sources available Buildings – Photovoltaics, solar, low-impact hydro or wind located on open
within the community boundary and space, parking lots etc. and the renewable energy output connected to
connected to the building electrical the buildings electrical or hot water system.
or hot water distribution.
Infrastructure – Community scale micro-grid connects distributed and
community-scale renewable systems (electric and or thermal energy) to
buildings and utility grid. Infrastructure needs to address energy storage
onsite or though grid-back-up.
Vehicles – Cars will soon be sold with the ability to charge vehicles onsite,
which can take advantage of using renewable energy generated onsite.
Table 15.1 continued

Option Demand- and supply-side Examples
number options
Vehicles will someday be able to provide power to the house if necessary in
a back-up utility mode.
Power system for home and vehicle charging will someday be

interconnected.
Offsite Supply Options
3 Use renewable energy sources available Buildings and Community infrastructure – Biofuels or landfill gas that can
offsite for energy use onsite. be imported from outside the community, or waste streams from onsite
processes that can be used in the community to generate electricity and
heat. A community could also negotiate with its power provider to install
dedicated wind turbines or photovoltaic panels at a site with good
solar/wind resources outside the community. In this approach, the
community might own the hardware and receive credits for the power. The
power company or a contractor would maintain the hardware.
Waste-water treatment can be designed to minimize energy use and create

energy from anaerobic digestion to capture methane for community heat
and power.
Vehicles – Use alternative fuels whenever possible.

4 Purchase NEW offsite renewable energy RECs typically include utility-based wind, photovoltaics, emissions credits or
sources – RECs that result in additional other ‘green’ purchasing options. Hydroelectric is sometimes considered.
generation added to the grid. RECs could be used as a strategy to meet a goal for an interim period of
time or as a ‘top off’ strategy to provide, for example, the last 10 per cent of
renewable energy. It is important that REC purchase add new generation
capacity to the grid.
Accounting for embodied energy

Our working definition of a 100 per cent renewable energy community
currently just includes accounting for direct energy uses. However, in the
future, we can further reduce community energy use by accounting for both
direct and indirect energy use – energy embodied in the community’s imported
goods, such as food and water. A community might also have the goal of zero
waste, possibly using a combustion process to dispose of waste, in addition to
recycling and reducing; zero net water use is another related goal. All of the
indirect uses of energy are challenging to account for and will require more
research and agreement on consistent methodology and accounting principles.
However, Lenzen et al (2008) propose a direct accounting method, based on
household expenditures, that appears to form a sound base for planning. One
approach might be to take a regional energy strategy versus a community
strategy so that communities can be interdependent in terms of trade.
The planning gap: Goal setting to reduce energy and emissions on

the rise
As the awareness in the US increases about carbon-based fuels issues and global
climate change, cities, states, universities and federal agencies adopt far-
reaching goals to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. For example,
as of 20 May 2008, more than 547 university presidents had signed on to the
American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (2008)
(www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/html/commitment.php). It states:
We recognize the scientific consensus that global warming is real and is

largely being caused by humans. We further recognize the need to reduce
the global emission of greenhouse gases by 80% by mid-century at the
latest, in order to avert the worst impacts of global warming and to
reestablish the more stable climatic conditions that have made human
progress over the last 10,000 years possible.
Similarly, as of 20 May 2008, 852 cities had signed the US Conference of

Mayors (2005) Climate Protection Agreement (www.usmayors.org/climate
protection/agreement.htm) calling on mayors to meet or exceed the Kyoto
Protocol targets to reduce global warming pollution levels to the reduction
target suggested for the US of 7 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.
Hundreds of architecture firms and other individuals have adopted the
Architecture 2030 (2008) Challenge (www.architecture2030.org/2030_
challenge/index.html), which calls for the global architecture and building
community to adopt the following targets:
• All new buildings, developments and major renovations shall be designed
to meet a fossil fuel, greenhouse gas-emitting, energy-consumption
performance standard of 50 per cent of the regional (or country) average
for that building type.
• At a minimum, an equal amount of existing building area shall be
renovated annually to meet a fossil fuel, greenhouse gas-emitting, energy-
consumption performance standard of 50 per cent of the regional (or
country) average for that building type.
• The fossil fuel reduction standard for all new buildings shall be increased
to 60 per cent in 2010, 70 per cent in 2015, 80 per cent in 2020, 90 per
cent in 2025 and carbon neutral in 2030 (using no fossil fuel greenhouse
gas-emitting energy to operate). These targets may be accomplished by
implementing innovative sustainable design strategies, generating onsite
renewable power, and/or purchasing (20 per cent maximum) renewable
energy and/or certified renewable energy credits(Architecture 2030,
www.architecture2030.org/2030_challenge/index.html).
These goals are an important step to begin the process as communities move
to meet a significantly larger proportion of their power from renewable sources
with 100 per cent of the direct power needs met by renewable energy. This is
the ultimate accomplishment for communities on the leading edge. The
challenge is that energy use in most communities continues to rise, not decline
due to growth, new construction and/or greater needs for electric loads such as
home electronics and air conditioning. Reaching a large fraction of a
community’s power from renewable energy will require a solution that
combines a focus on technology and policy improvements with a fundamental
shift in human behaviour and lifestyle.
The planning gap: Goals not being reached

Currently there is a gap between the goals to use significantly more renewable
energy in communities and the reality. For example, the Colorado Climate
Action Plan of November 2007 (Ritter, 2007) envisions radical reductions in
state-wide greenhouse gases by 2050. The plan is built on the assumption that
it is important to build bridging strategies to reduce greenhouse gases today
while developing cleaner and less costly renewable technologies for the future.
The plan focuses most of its emphasis on meeting the near-term target of 20
per cent emissions reduction by 2020 but devotes less than one page to getting
from the 2020 to the 2050 greenhouse gas reduction target of 80 per cent. The
example illustrates the general situation that communities tend to focus on
reducing conventional energy use in the short-term instead of planning now for
the more challenging task to guide the deeper transition to a zero-carbon
energy economy. In contrast to this typical short-term planning, the approach
for the farther time horizon with more radical goals will require a more
strategic perspective, addressing fundamental technological uncertainties,
complex financing mechanisms, and the need for behavioural change. This is
especially true regarding energy infrastructure, which has long-lasting impacts
or decisions regarding new construction where the decision to build in the
most highly energy efficient manner makes the most economic sense when
viewed from a lifecycle perspective; but is more typically viewed from a short-
term or first-cost perspective.
100% renewable communities require an understanding of

decision-making trade-offs including human behaviour
An implementation strategy to embrace 100 per cent renewables for
communities needs to embrace both technological solutions as well as changes
in behaviour, and do so in a financially viable manner. Behavioural
understanding and decision-making are key elements that are not always
considered in debates about strategies to move to 100 per cent renewable
technologies and in discussing climate change policy. While beyond the scope
of this chapter, studies in the field of behavioural economics by Little (2006),
Lambert (2006), Sherman and Booth Sweeney (2006) and Moezzi (1998) look
at adult belief systems, the connection between beliefs, public policy and
behaviour. While there are many papers that define technical solutions to solve
our climate-impacts-mitigation problems using efficiency and renewable
energy, there is little help for community implementation: looking at financial
structures and human behaviour to ultimately lead to adopting these new
technologies.
One tool does support this broader approach. At the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, Dr A. Walker (2008) has developed
a method to analyse renewable energy options for a specific site, which can
provide the basis for stakeholder discussions to determine necessary buy-in
from the community level, and a finance strategy and implementation plan.
Using his renewable optimization software Walker first identifies the least-
cost combination of renewable energy technologies to provide 100 per cent net
renewable power for a specific site. At the National Zoological Park in
Washington DC and the 4600 acre Conservation Research Center in Fort
Royal, VA, he identifies the lifecycle cost of the combination of renewable
energy technologies that would meet their goal of 100 per cent net renewable
energy by the year 2016 at $74 million versus the lifecycle cost of continuing
to purchase gas and electricity, which has a lifecycle cost of $52 million. The
lifecycle costs do not include a dollar value for pollution emissions, educational
value or other benefits associated with using renewable energy (Walker 2008).
This analysis provides a launching pad for stakeholder discussion for the
community to determine how best to meet this goal. Identifying the lifecycle
cost of both options provides a basis to develop a financing plan. Without
understanding the magnitude of the investment required and without
considering the other benefits offered by the net zero solution, one might not
realize the importance of developing a long-term financing plan. This tool has
been used for specific business and government campuses and small towns
including the Smithsonian National Zoo, Frito Lay, Anheuser Busch,
Greensburg, Kansas and San Nicholas Island – an island owned by the US
Navy.
Closing the planning gap: Community planning examples

We have grouped community planning examples into three categories. The cat-
egories describe various approaches to reducing conventional energy use and em-
bracing renewable energy. The categories range from taking incremental steps
to more visionary and aggressive approaches. Within each category we cite ex-
ample communities and lessons learned from the approach taken.
Target incremental savings

Many local communities and university campuses (essentially small commun-
ities) have developed action plans to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and
move towards the concept of greater reliance on renewable energy but their
plan strategies and tactics focus on near-term incremental actions designed to
improve energy efficiency only with little focus on the longer-term strategies.
In many cases growth in their energy use rises faster than their savings.
Incremental improvements that succeed in reducing emissions over the next
decade cannot be repeated indefinitely to achieve ever lower emissions levels.
Furthermore, once the ‘low hanging fruit’ of existing practices has been
‘picked’, additional progress will require longer planning horizons and more
complex analysis and decision-making. Incremental energy efficiency improve-
ments are a very necessary step to move to 100 per cent, but should not be the
sole vision; rather they should be one step in a comprehensive overall approach
to reach 100 per cent renewable energy. Incremental improvements made in
the absence of a long-term strategy pose the risk of making particular further
improvements more costly or otherwise impractical.
Example: The City of Boulder, Colorado

Boulder, Colorado, is a city of 100,000 and home of the University of Colorado.
The Boulder Climate Action Plan focuses on the near-term goal of incremental
improvements to meet a 2012 goal yet is silent on defining a strategy for a longer-
term renewable goal (City of Boulder, 2006). In Boulder, as in most US cities, car-
bon emissions have grown since 1990. Brown et al (2008) state that carbon emis-
sions in the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the US have increased by 1 per cent
per year since 1908. Given the growth in energy use in Boulder, in order to meet
the Kyoto Protocol reduction target of 7 per cent below the 1990 level, they now
need to reduce emissions by approximately 24 per cent between 2005 and
2012. Figure 15.2 shows their total increase in greenhouse gas emissions between
1990 and 2005, with projections to 2012.
Figure 15.2 Growth in energy use in the City of Boulder

Source: City of Boulder (2006)
Between 1995 and 2007, the size of a new home in Boulder County has
increased from about 2700 square foot to more than 6000 square foot (Kelley,
2008). These homes are more energy efficient than homes built in the past, but
typically use a broader range of equipment such as air conditioning and
electronic equipment. Despite impressive efficiency gains, the total energy used
in buildings in the US almost doubled between 1970 and 2005; and the nation
can expect to see building energy consumption increase by 0.8 per cent per
year through to 2030 (Brown et al, 2008). This is coupled with the added
dilemma in Boulder that housing prices near downtown continue to rise,
forcing people seeking affordable homes to move farther from their jobs,
which in turn increases vehicle miles travelled to and from work unless a mass
transit opportunity is in place. This cycle causes climate-impacts mitigation to
worsen.
The Boulder Climate Action Plan (City of Boulder, 2006) began with an
inventory detailing the sources of greenhouse gases. By establishing a city-wide
carbon tax in 2006, voters demonstrated their desire to take local action to
mitigate the impacts of climate change. The carbon tax for residences is
currently $13 per household per year with a planned increase to
$19/household/year. The tax funds the city’s effort to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions at approximately $1 million per year. The tax does not represent the
environmental costs associated with carbon impacts.2
The energy efficiency and renewable recommendations in the Boulder plan
are largely voluntary and the city’s role is largely as a facilitator, educator and
an advocate. The plan assumes that over 95 per cent of the costs to improve
efficiency in the commercial, industrial and residential sectors will be borne by
the private sector and the local utility company and that utility rebates will
cover between 25 per cent and 50 per cent of the implementation cost of
efficiency measures. It makes the assumption that very little city investment
will be required. The renewable energy strategy is to buy renewable energy
credits rather than building onsite renewable energy systems.
The Boulder Daily Camera (Snider, 2008) noted that Boulder will only
make it about half-way to its goal of cutting enough greenhouse gases to
comply with their Kyoto Potocol target. Boulder is cited as a case study in this
chapter because the reasons that Boulder is not able to meet the Kyoto target
are representative of what one may find in many other US cities that are both
proactive and committed to meeting greenhouse gas-reduction targets.
Smart grid initiative in Boulder

In 2008, Boulder was successful in receiving an award from its power provider,
Xcel Energy, to plan for a smart grid. With leveraged funding from various
government grants, this could be up to a $100 million effort. The funding for
this initiative dwarfs the funding of the Boulder Climate Action Plan and could
result in improved energy efficiency. The term smart-power grid refers to a
power grid that enables real-time communication between the consumer and
the utility allowing the utility to optimize a consumer’s energy usage based on
environmental and/or price preferences (Xcel Energy, 2008). Through this

award, the utility intends to install equipment upstream of consumers, in
substations, to boost grid intelligence and reliability, with the intent of
squeezing out some of the inefficiencies that push up costs. Consumers will see
installation of advanced meters in their homes. The meters will be capable of
two-way communication and will provide a gateway to allow the homeowner
– or, with permission, the utility – to remotely control furnaces, lights, air
conditioners and other devices.
The meters could also give the utility the ability to dynamically price
electricity. In the future, this could allow Xcel to assign different prices to
electricity used at different times of the day, or for electricity used for different
purposes. It could charge one price for basic lighting and another for running
air conditioners or recharging batteries of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles,
which are expected to be marketed in three years or so. These pricing plans
would require approval of state utility regulators, something Xcel has not yet
sought.
The smart grid could be a first step to position the power company to shift
its role from that of a producer of a commodity (electricity) to one of a
distributor and manager of the flow of electricity based on real-time pricing
(Reuyl, 2006). As Reuyl explains, from the point of view of a sustainable
community that is more reliant on energy efficiency and renewable energy, this
fundamental shift is very significant. In a community where the utilities have
real-time information regarding dispatchable energy and a source of multiple
small-scale distributed sources of generation such as photovoltaic rooftops, the
utility role could evolve to managing, tracking and matching energy supply
versus demand to insure a reliable and efficient utility system. With real-time
pricing, home owners and businesses can be motivated to install photovoltaics
onto their rooftops.
Lessons from this case study include:
• The overall community greenhouse gas and energy use baseline is an
important first step to define and understand the sources of energy use.
• The plan does not define a vision (including a financing plan) for
significantly increasing the use of renewable energy within the community.
• The voluntary plan does not seem to be successful at changing human
behaviour to the degree necessary to overcome the impacts of growth and
lifestyle that continue to drive up total energy use.
• The smart grid project has the ability to significantly change human
behaviour in response to both feedback on energy use and price signals.
• The smart grid project might have a larger impact on reducing greenhouse
gases than the Climate Action Plan and therefore should be integrated
within the latter (City of Boulder, 2006).
The key points are similar to the findings of a survey conducted in ten cities by
the Institute for Local Self-reliance regarding how well the cities were meeting
their climate change goals and what strategies and methodologies they were
using. They concluded that many cities will likely fail in their attempts unless
complementary state and federal policies are put into place (Bailey, 2007).
Some of the lessons to be learned identified by Bailey (2007) include:
• The methodologies and assumptions to create greenhouse gas inventories
among communities are not standardized – making comparisons between
communities problematic.
• Community-wide emissions have risen since 1990, sometimes dramatically
and it is unlikely that more than one or two of the ten cities studied and
quite possibly none will reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to the level
of the Kyoto Protocol (7 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012).
• Almost all the cities surveyed were expecting to realize a significant portion
of their greenhouse gas reductions as a result of actions taken by higher
levels of government. Relying too heavily on strategies out of the city’s
direct control could stunt local solutions and inhibit the city’s investment in
energy-related projects that have ancillary economic and environmental
benefits.
• Cities are not investing significant amounts of their own money to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
Visionary approaches: Phased and pragmatic

The examples cited below are termed visionary because in all cases they focus
not only on incremental approaches to energy efficiency but include both some
type of ‘big idea’ and an implementation strategy that can be phased to get to
the desired end point (in one case a ZEB, in another a zero-energy district
(ZED)). In all cases their strategy attempts to go beyond the incremental
improvements.
Example: Fort Collins, Colorado

Fort Collins, Colorado is a town with approximately 130,000 people in
northern Colorado. It is home to Colorado State University. The town and the
university have started a programme called Fort ZED in order to ‘transform
the downtown and university district into a net ZED’, meaning that the district
would create as much thermal and electrical energy locally as it uses within its
built environment. ‘Local’ is defined as within a 50-mile radius of the district.
Not only does the power generated in Fort ZED need to be local, it also needs
to be clean energy balanced with efficiency and conservation. Fort ZED is a
strategic partnership that involves the city of Fort Collins, the municipal utility,
the clean energy cluster (local businesses interested in technical leadership and
creating economic development), and a stakeholder group that encompasses
interest in linking the downtown, the university campus and the downtown
river corridor.
Like Boulder, Fort Collins is a growing community. Between 1992 and
2006 the population grew by 54 per cent, energy grew by 70 per cent and peak
demand grew by 105 per cent. In 2003, as a precursor to Fort ZED, Fort
Collins developed an energy policy that set energy demand reduction targets
and supply targets coupled with a renewable energy supply target:
• Reduce per capita energy consumption by 10 per cent by 2012.
• Reduce per capita peak demand by 15 per cent by 2012.
• Increase renewable energy to 15 per cent by 2017.
Figure 15.3 shows how the city of Fort Collins has quantified the need for
renewable energy in order to meet a 10 per cent renewable energy target.
Figure 15.3 Fort Collins projections for renewable energy to meet defined energy targets
Source: Dorsey (2008)
Note: RE = renewable energy
They have determined that 50–60MW of installed capacity of wind would be

needed to meet a 10 per cent renewable energy target. The programme has
established strategies in five areas including:
• A 5MW (approximately 10 per cent of the district) demonstration
programme. This involves identifying participants (such as businesses and
university entities) among a cross section of the district to implement
changes to achieve net zero goals. For example, the new Belgium Brewing
company is a leader in the business community in terms of implementing
strategies in support of zero energy goals. The Colorado State University is
exploring the construction of a wind farm on land it owns in Fort Collins
(an ambitious idea).
• The stakeholders in the district will develop a set of sustainability guidelines
so that new construction projects and building retrofit projects designed
will help to stabilize energy consumption in the district.
• The community will remove the barriers to develop needed infrastructure and
create unique financial incentives in the district. This involves designing fi-
nancial levers, tax incentives, incremental financing and design assistance as
well as looking at the utility rate structure as a way to enable the desired out-
come. The desired goal of this strategy is to affect local policy, regulation,
markets and technology to facilitate Fort ZED.
• Fort Collins will work with their municipal utility to develop a strategy to
use onsite renewable and distributed generation along with smart grid de-
mand management to provide power to customers in the most efficient
manner.
• Residents and businesses will be educated about this initiative and
grassroots and neighbourhood groups will be encouraged to participate.
Lessons learned from this example include:

• Building strong stakeholder ties within the community in order to define
the overall set of values that is desired in the community is an important
first step. The shared set of values will help implement the portion of the
strategy that impacts behaviour.
• The plan began with the vision and the high-level strategies for reaching the
vision, along with some crucial early funding, such as being a recipient of a
US Department of Energy grant to investigate peak load reduction using
distributed and renewable resources. Fort Collins is currently doing a
detailed analysis.
• The Fort ZED plan addresses the scale of the problem both in terms of
technology and financial requirements and offers a time-phased approach
to implementation.
• The plan involves the community members and uses them to ‘model’
behaviour as ‘early adopters’ for others to follow as an approach to address
behaviour.
• The plan uses policy and incentives to shape the desired outcome.
Example: National Renewable Energy Laboratory building, Golden,

Colorado
In a very general sense, a building is a community, although less complex. The
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is in the early design stages
for a large (approximately 210,000 square foot) office building that has an
energy design goal of 25,000BTU/ft2/year. The design of this building involves
not only technology solutions but an understanding of the need to address
human behaviour to reach its energy goal. Therefore, it is instructive as a case
study because it is a pragmatic yet visionary approach to community scale,
zero-energy solutions.
The first step in designing this building was to determine a measurable goal
for energy efficiency: 25,000BTU/ft2/year of energy is approximately 50 per
cent less energy than the minimum set under the ASHRAE 90.1 2004 standard
(ASHRAE, 2004). The intent is to use the goal as a tool to develop a

comprehensive programme of energy efficiency measures and building
operational strategies and policies to reduce energy use in the building as the
first priority, rather than encouraging the use of supply-side renewable options
coupled with a less efficient building where all energy efficiency options have
not been fully exploited. This is an important strategy for communities as well
as buildings. Renewable energy generation including photovoltaics, solar
water heating, biomass, wind or renewable energy credits can then be used to
take the energy use in the building from 25,000BTU/ft2/year to net-zero energy
or 100 per cent net renewable energy.
Another step for this building is working with the occupants to turn off lights
and equipment at night. A series of options were simulated for daytime versus
night-time use of lights and equipment plug loads. For each pair of options, the
total contribution to annual energy use was calculated. These analyses showed
that if we operate the building at 0.8W/ft2 for plug load both during the day and
night, the total contribution to plug load would be 18,000BTU/ft2/year (Torcellini
and Pless, personal communication, 2008). This analysis represents a case
where no-one turns any lights or computers off at night. Obviously this would
make it challenging to meet a 25,000BTU/ft2/year building energy load if 72 per
cent of the goal was being taken up by plug loads. As an alternative, if the build-
ing is operated at 0.8W/ft2/year during the day and 0.2W/ft2 at night, the plug
load contribution to the annual load can be reduced to 7000BTU/ft2/year. This
is just one example of the importance of addressing human behaviour to achieve
an energy saving goal. Addressing occupant behaviour is a shared responsibil-
ity of the design team and users. The design team can design in switches and easy
ways to turn off the variety of loads associated with the buildings including such
things as elevators and other building equipment.
Another option studied is building orientation and footprint. For the
building to meet its efficiency goal, orientation and footprint matter. As seen
in Figure 15.4, the building is being designed with a very narrow footprint,
approximately 60 feet wide. In a commercial building approximately 40 per
cent of the energy load is lighting, therefore, a strategy to reduce energy in
commercial buildings is to significantly reduce the energy needed for lighting.
Day lighting can best be accomplished from the north and south facades
because these facades are easier to shade than those on the east and west sides.
The long facades of the building are facing north and south in order to take
advantage of natural lighting.
The intent is for the balance of the building load, the 25,000BTU/ft2/year
to be powered by a photovoltaic system, financed through a power purchase
agreement, located onsite in order to bring the building energy to near zero. At
the time of writing, the details of how much of the photovoltaic system can be
located on the building versus the site has not been determined.
The key lessons that can be applied to communities include the following:
• As a first step, understand the end use (or drivers of) energy loads for a
community.
Figure 15.4 Conceptual design image of the building

Source: RNL Design, Denver, CO
• It is important to set a measurable goal for the project or community and

then break it into pieces to know what percentage can be met by efficiency,
what percentage by onsite renewables and what percentage by offsite
renewables.
• Exploit all the efficiency strategies as a first step and recognize that human
behaviour and instilling an energy conservation ethic are part of the
solution.
• Develop a plan and financing approach to meet a fraction of the goal using
renewable energy.
Visionary and paradigm shifting

In this category, cities start with a bold vision and a financing plan. Developing
a financing plan is an important step to take early on in the process. The
examples are the county of Sonoma, California and Masdar City, in the heart
of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Masdar is under construction with a
stated goal of being a 100 per cent renewable community.
Example: Sonoma County, California

The county of Sonoma, California recognized that financing is key to moving
their community to a 100 per cent renewable energy community. At an early
step in their process, they developed a financing strategy, now aggressively
pursuing it. The county seeks federal funding to demonstrate its concept to
provide enough local renewable power to meet the energy needs of a local
business park, neighbourhood or segment of a town (Poole, 2008.) In
justifying their argument for federal funding, the county cites many precedents
that illustrate how the US federal government, involved in local partnerships,
has acted as a catalyst for change in addressing issues of national importance.
The concept for which Sonoma is seeking funding is described here because
it illustrates an example of a visionary idea that other cities might consider.
Their vision includes four elements:
1 Developing a recycled water distribution system – their vision is to use a
recycled water distribution system, geo-exchange wells and geothermal
heat pump technologies to heat and cool commercial buildings in urban

and rural settings (i.e. winery operations and business parks, covering
approximately 3 square miles or 3 per cent of Sonoma County’s urban
area). They would also make the regional distribution of recycled water
available for irrigation and other non-potable uses. They estimate that
this could save more than 50 per cent of the energy cost of water supplied
for non-potable uses.
2 Using significantly more renewable energy – they also propose a
programme to expand renewable power use by installing solar, wind,
hydro-kinetic and landfill-powered generation systems in Sonoma
County. These systems would provide sufficient local renewable power to
meet the energy demands of a local business park, neighbourhood or
segment of a city or town.
3 Developing a strategy for fuel efficient vehicles – they propose a demon-
stration programme to address fuel efficient transportation. Their plan
would be to seek a major auto manufacturer planning to produce PHEVs
on a large scale and pursue incentive programmes with Pacific Gas &
Electric and air quality districts to bring 100 to 250 affordable PHEVs to
the citizens of Sonoma County.
4 Adding storage to their energy infrastructure – as a final element, their
approach requires cost-effective, efficient systems for energy storage and
recovery in order to supply power during periods when generation is low
and demand is at peak. They will explore various technical options for
storage. Their demonstration project would provide a means to test their
concepts in ‘real-life’ applications in businesses, municipal agencies and
communities.
This demonstration programme is championed by the Sonoma County Water

Agency as a means to demonstrate the feasible implementation of a method
and technology to retrofit existing communities that could be widely replicated
to meet the power needs of the US, thereby reducing dependence on foreign oil
and natural gas, as well as reducing water use and implementing 100 per cent
reuse of recycled water.
The specific cost of implementing this concept in Sonoma County was not
defined but they were requesting support for a $200 million block grant fund-
ing for local governmental projects focused on climate change (Poole, 2008).
Lessons from this case study include:
• Start with a big idea, plan for the long term and focus on a financing strategy.
• The use of some means to interconnect distributed sources of energy within
the community and the need for storage is an implementation strategy on
which very few communities have focused.
• Recognize and take advantage of the changing role of the utility.
• Their approach integrates several systems that typically are not
interconnected – water, energy and transportation.
Example: Masdar City, Abu Dhabi

Masdar City is a new planned community being designed as a dense walled city
that will cover 7km2. It will be home to 50,000 people and 1500 businesses –
primarily commercial and manufacturing facilities specializing in environmen-
tally-friendly products. Another 40,000 workers are expected to commute to the
city daily (Whittier, 2008) . The city’s design uses traditional planning principals,
together with energy efficient and renewable technologies available in the mar-
ketplace, to achieve a zero-carbon and zero-waste community. The concept for
the city was initiated in 2006. It is estimated to cost $22 billion and will take
approximately eight years to build, with the first phase scheduled to be complete
and habitable in 2009 (Whittier, 2008). The city will be the location of a uni-
versity, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, which is partnering with
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Automobiles will be banned within
the city. Travel will be accomplished via public mass transit and personal rapid
transit systems, with existing road and railway connecting to other locations out-
side the city. No-one has designed a similar personal rapid transport system be-
fore. Masdar is being designed by the British architectural firm Foster and Part-
ners.
Masdar will employ a variety of renewable power sources. Fifty-two per
cent will be from photovoltaics (over 200MW), 28 per cent from concentrated
solar (approximately 10MW); 14 per cent from evacuated tube; 7 per cent
waste to energy, and exploration of geothermal is ongoing (Whittier, 2008). A
renewable district cooling system, ~67,000t, coupled with a variety of
desiccants (both liquid and solid) will be deployed on a centralized basis. The
liquid desiccant system is particularly innovative for its low carbon footprint.
A 10MW photovoltaic installation will be online in mid-2009. This will supply
power for all other construction activity.
Water management has also been planned in an environmentally sound
manner. A solar-powered desalination plant will be used to provide the city’s
water needs, which are stated to be 60 per cent lower than similarly sized
communities. Approximately 80 per cent of the water used will be recycled and
wastewater will be reused ‘as many times as possible’, including for crop
irrigation and other purposes.
There are many challenges including: the hot climate and high need for cool-
ing (over 5700 hours per year for cooling and 5200 hours per year needed for
dehumidification); dust, which could reduce photovoltaic output; and humidity,
which causes the dust to adhere to surfaces. Storage of electricity and thermal
energy are also challenges. The personal rapid transit load is highly variable and
it is always challenging to manage occupant behaviour (Whittier, 2008).
Lessons from this case study include the following:
• A 100 per cent renewable community requires a large upfront capital in-
vestment and planning.
• The phasing is innovative because they are first building a large solar plant
to provide power for construction activities.
• The renewable strategy includes both distributed photovoltaic solar systems

on homes integrated with power from larger central facilities.
• Infrastructure planning and design is novel. Infrastructure will include
storage for heat and electricity. Water infrastructure includes multiple levels
of clean water (black, grey, fresh).
Each of these case studies offers some lessons in developing a long-term plan
to transition a community toward a 100 per cent renewable community. In the
next section, we summarize the lessons learned into a series of steps that a
community can take.
A recipe for moving to 100% renewable communities

A community goal needs to be set at the highest level (i.e. the university presi-
dent, the mayor) but implementation falls to the people ‘in the trenches’ – the
facility, city and utility managers – and must be effectively communicated in or-
der to enlist the support of community members. It is a good first step to set a
bold goal and to initiate dialogue. The dialogue should clarify a community’s
shared values around the importance of using renewable energy whether as a cli-
mate-impact mitigation strategy, an economic development strategy or a strat-
egy for energy independence or for other reasons. These reasons will help a com-
munity redefine why renewable energy is ‘cost effective’ for the community by
including the external costs of not supporting a renewable energy strategy.3
Once there is agreement that 100 per cent renewable energy (or zero
energy is a shared value and goal) the next steps might be:
1 Partnerships and stakeholder roles and relations
The paradigm shift required to move to 100 per cent renewables requires
a redefinition of roles and responsibilities within a community. Building
local relationships early in the process to reach the common objective,
regardless of the role each partner played in the past is an important first
step. One of the best examples is presented by Reuyl (2006). He states
that utilities may well evolve from a producer of a commodity (electricity)
into a distributor and manager of services, modelled in part on the
banking industry. While banks handle the flow of dollars, utilities handle
the flow of electricity. Each industry (banks and utilities) handles multiple
sources of deposits (dollars or electricity). Each industry has multiple
services to offer (withdrawals/electricity use, deposits/electricity gener-
ation, deposits withdrawals/net metering, and various costs of
services/different rate structures). Both depend increasingly upon the flow
of information to dispense services and maximize reliability and
efficiency of the respective industry. The concept of the smart grid being
implemented in Boulder, Colorado is very consistent with the utility’s
evolving role.
Another example is Toyota, which now has a division in the
homebuilding business in Japan, and could leverage their quality brand
name by combining sales of homes and cars (www.toyota.co.jp/en/

more_than_cars/housing/index.html). Likewise a developer might
recognize that the development of a community-scaled utility micro-grid
to interconnect various components of distributed renewable energy with
buildings might be in their business interest.
Going into a dialogue with the focus on the end in mind (100 per cent
renewable) and the reality that roles will need to change to help shift the
paradigm is a good first step. The dialogue can frame tactical plans for
near-term reductions in energy use and shifts to renewable energy with a
long-term strategy for achieving the end goal. Both the tactical and
strategic plans will require refinements. As the community evolves, new
technologies and solutions become available, financing opportunities
arise and the energy landscape changes.
2 Understand the energy inventory and needs for buildings, vehicles, water
and waste
In the case studies previously discussed, examples of energy analysis and
inventory are an important early step. There are many tools available to
do the inventory. What becomes more challenging is to quantify the
impact of various technologies in combination with local policy options.
Questions such as what has the larger impact, policy X or Y or policy X
versus incentive A or B, or technology 1 versus policy 2 are challenging
for communities to quantify, rank order and evaluate. Communities
typically rely on a combination of tools and manual analysis to evaluate
trade-offs between policy and technology options, as comprehensive and
unified community energy planning decision support are not generally
available.
Once the energy assessment has been completed, a next step is
developing a rough cut at how much of the goal can be met using
efficiency versus onsite renewables, versus central onsite renewables,
versus offsite renewables. In very general terms, significant reductions are
available from energy efficiency (in existing communities most likely in
the range of 15 per cent to 40 per cent); once these inefficiencies are
exploited, the community needs to find or develop a renewable supply-
side scenario. The tendency of communities is to focus discussion and
planning more on the incremental savings though low-cost and voluntary
efficiency measures and put off or ignore the discussion of the bigger
question – what to do after the incremental improvements are made in the
short term. In an existing community, if the incremental savings from
efficiency are calculated to be in the range of 30 per cent and the
community wants to meet 100 per cent of their energy from renewable
sources, focusing discussion and an implementation plan on only
incremental savings is ignoring 70 per cent of the problem.
Tied to understanding the energy inventory and quantifying the
reduction needed by source, is determining the overall cost and
timeframe. Most likely the costs per community of infrastructure changes

will be in the millions or billions of dollars depending on the size of the
community. The total cost is an important data point. Once it is known
(as shown previously in the Walker Smithsonian example) a finance plan
and timeframe for implementation can be determined.
3 Building strategy
Goals for new construction and retrofit need to be defined and made
measurable over time. One cannot measure what one cannot meter. With-
out the data, it is hard to know if your community is meeting its target. The
building strategy will be a combination of policy requirements and tech-
nology options. In terms of technology options, there is no ‘silver bullet’.
If the stated objective for a community is 100 per cent renewable then a re-
quirement for all new construction should be to maximize energy efficiency
in all new construction. (For example, in the US, for most building types
a good metric would be to design a new building so that its energy per-
formance is in the order of 50 per cent better than the building code re-
quires by law.) In existing buildings, exploiting energy efficiency is also the
most cost-effective strategy. Especially in new construction, all efficiency
measures that are lifecycle cost effective should be incorporated.
Once efficiency is exploited, a community with the goal of 100 per
cent renewables must install or plan for solar electric photovoltaic systems
or solar thermal systems on all available and suitable rooftop space.
US local government and university construction budgets typically
include capital costs only, while operating expenses come from another
budget line item. This has created a barrier in terms of planning for the
added first cost of sustainable new construction. Decisions regarding
building construction need to be made based on lifecycle costs (first-cost
plus operating). Communities and universities, developers, as well as the
banking industry need to work through this somewhat ‘artificial’ barrier
in order to invest in efficiency and renewable measures that are lifecycle
cost effective.
The building efficiency strategy must also address changing human
behaviour. Universities and other entities are developing many new labs
and buildings that use in the range of four to six times the energy of office
buildings. In these buildings, strategies to save energy, especially when the
buildings are not occupied, are particularly important. As was shown in
the NREL example above, human behaviour, including turning off lights
and appliances when not in use, is an important efficiency strategy. This
is especially important in high-tech buildings on university and research
campuses.
4 The central plant

The relationship between the community and its utility will be key to
decisions regarding how to provide community renewable power from a
central or distributed source, as well as metering. Costs, financing and

timeframe surrounding a new renewable power plant are important ques-
tions to answer as part of the planning. There are numerous technology
options to consider – wind, photovoltaics, landfill gas, hydro, geothermal
– that are dependent upon local resource availability. Scenarios for locat-
ing renewable technology plants could include siting on land owned by
the community, or working with the utility to site and finance a renew-
able power plant owned by the community at a good wind or solar
resource location where the power generated is credited to community
and utility.
5 The transportation strategy

Understanding the important role that transportation plays in daily life, one
must provide options that meet the needs of the individual in a cost-effec-
tive and timely manner. For a new community, the most energy saving
transportation mode is to provide attractive, safe pathways for pedestrian
and human-powered machines. Another energy efficient transportation
means is mass transit – with stops at a frequency interval that is timely and
low or no cost to the rider. A more energy intensive option is to have spe-
cialized lanes for private vehicles that carry multiple passengers (carpools).
Since no one fuel (petroleum, natural gas, hydrogen, bio-derived fuels and
electricity) will be the only answer, it is anticipated that the impacts of new
and/or existing infrastructure along with a global carbon footprint analy-
sis be carefully analysed upfront so that maximum efficiency can be
achieved.
Individuals are more likely to choose a fuel that is inexpensive, con-
venient and perhaps way down the ‘environmentally friendly’ list. As it
stands today, electricity is one fourth the cost of conventional petroleum
fuels – and as soon as there are more options for original equipment man-
ufactured (OEM) vehicles such as hybrid-electric and plug-in hybrid-elec-
tric versions these will become more popular. Since electricity can be gen-
erated renewably – then all planned new development should consider
becoming plug-in ready. Neighbourhood electric vehicles (NEVs) provide
a low-speed option to conventional vehicles at a fraction of the cost and
their use should be encouraged. Electrified bikes are becoming a favourite
mode of transportation in China and depending upon the infrastructure and
safety aspects during travel, could grow in popularity around the world.
Other fuels, beyond petroleum, could be biomass-derived feedstocks
to make – for example – cellulosic ethanol. Early market penetration of
corn-derived ethanol is just starting to make its way into the market and
much less energy intensive crops beyond corn are being explored for
yields three to five times larger than currently exist. Hydrogen and fuel
cells, with electric drive, are other options that face greater technical
challenges and more infrastructure development than some of the other
options mentioned.
The bottom line is that one should encourage efficient and convenient
public transportation and reward less vehicle miles travelled to create a
more ‘local’ business network meeting the needs of everyone in very short
distances. If private vehicular transportation is essential, then fuel the
vehicle with renewable fuels (biomass-derived alternative fuels, hydrogen
or electricity from solar, wind etc.).
6 Integrated design
Achieving a 100 per cent renewable community is not purely a technical
problem; rather it is a systems integration problem. This chapter presents
ideas and approaches, but does not describe actual case studies where 100
per cent has been achieved because none of the examples have been built.
There are many systems integration opportunities on multiple levels:
• Energy efficient homes with renewable sources of electricity need to
be physically connected via a smart grid to one another and to a
central renewable power plant with storage.
• The energy systems for homes and vehicles need to be interconnected
and viewed as one system.
• The values in the community need to shift and align with energy
efficient behaviour. Institutions within the community, schools,
businesses and governments can all model the desired behaviour.
• Traditional roles of stakeholders shift to take advantage of new
opportunities. For example, the role of the utility as described in this
chapter. A community developer’s role might shift to take more
responsibility for developing a community’s energy infrastructure and
the city’s role might involve a greater leadership role in advocating
clean power.
Research and other action needed to move forward

The key areas of research for supporting the development of 100 per cent re-
newable communities involve the collection, use and management of informa-
tion within an integrating framework. First, a standard methodology for baselin-
ing direct energy use on a self-consistent, community-wide basis is a critical
foundation for developing comprehensive plans. Beyond that, guidelines for es-
timating and categorizing indirect energy use assist the definition of boundaries
and scope for community efforts. The integrated nature of community-based
planning requires a similarly integrated approach to assessing and reconciling en-
ergy-use inventories for buildings, transportation, central plants, etc. Further-
more, a methodology that structures these inventories according to a standard
lexicon or ontology will enable data analysis for inter-community case studies
and encourage the development of standard analysis, planning tools and best
practice guides for renewable community development. Note that considering
greenhouse gas emissions or carbon neutrality in plans, in addition to renewables
adoption, further complicates the planning methodology.
A variety of analysis tools already exists for assessing and analysing

particular aspects of a community’s plan in the short term, but developing
comprehensive analysis tools that integrate short-term options with long-term
possibilities are needed to allow communities to close the planning gap. The
methods for identifying appropriate mixes of near-term, incremental actions
and policies do not necessarily apply to the development of strategic plans
because the long-term options are coupled to substantial uncertainties in
technology, behaviour, markets and policy; thus, it is desirable to formulate
long-term plans that explicitly account for these risks and iteratively manage
them. Complementary, short-term plans must avoid either closing off or
increasing the cost of beneficial long-term possibilities, including financing
opportunities. Hence, the loosely coupled development of short-term and long-
term plans poses the likelihood of inconsistencies and inefficiencies. Tools
soundly based on a methodology that integrates the community-wide and the
temporal planning horizons promise lower risk, are more cost effective, and
provide more achievable pathways to 100 per cent renewable energy for
communities.
As mentioned above, the efficiency or cost effectiveness of a technology does
not necessarily guarantee its adoptability, especially if its adoption would require
significant behavioural changes within a community. Behavioural economics re-
search into the issues around renewables adoption is critical for identifying
adoptable technological pathways and crafting policies that support such adop-
tion. Without a better understanding of the choices available to individuals, busi-
nesses and community groups, portions of the long-term plans for 100 per cent
renewables could lead to dead ends. The behaviour-economic research needs can
be addressed through a combination of theoretical work, modelling and simu-
lation, small-scale experiments, focus groups and case studies.
Finally, the nascent plans and implementations of renewable communities
constitute rich sources of potential data that can inform planning methodology,
best practice guides, comparative case studies, tool calibration/validation etc.
Collecting these data and research results into an information clearinghouse is
vital to accelerate the formulation of realistic, integrated approaches to achieve
100 per cent renewable energy adoption in communities. Furthermore, structured
repositories of community-level data can be leveraged in regional studies and
analyses to provide a wider perspective on progress towards 100 per cent re-
newables.
Notes
1 There are many competing terms that describe the desired end state of a community
or building that meets the majority of its energy needs from renewable energy or
carbon-free energy. The terms include: sustainable communities, net-zero commun-
ities, carbon-free communities, renewable communities – and in this book, the term
used is 100 per cent, referring to the goal of powering 100 per cent of the
community needs from renewable energy. There are many nuances in definition, for
example, net-zero energy could refer to site energy, source energy or energy costs.
2 If you take the average carbon produced by one person (15t per person at $12/ton)
(Tufts Climate Initiative, 2008), the capital offset per person equals $180 per person
per year or $540 per year per household of three.
3 In the US, the issue of cost effectiveness has been a barrier to greater use of
renewable energy. When comparing the cost of renewable power to other energy
sources, the external costs for items such as environmental pollution or transport to
remote sites associated with certain energy technologies are not factored in. If these
costs were included in pricing energy, the cost comparison between renewable and
fossil-based energy would be more accurate. Also, in the US there is ambivalence
and polarization of thought around how much more we are willing to pay for clean,
renewable sources of power in many communities. This is an important question to
build consensus around.
References
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Level, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Minneapolis, MN
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of Metropolitan America’, Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, Brookings
Institute, Washington, DC
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Dorsey, J. (2008) ‘Fort ZED: Fort Collins Zero Energy District’, paper presented to
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April
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Xcel Energy, Denver, CO
Chapter Sixteen
Community Life at 100%
and Beyond: How to Raise
a Renewable Family Without
Even Trying
Michael Stöhr
100% renewable – a big step?

Our family lives on renewable energy – 100 per cent. This sounds extra-
ordinary, but there are many individuals and families in the world who are
already fully renewable energy supplied – and many may not even be aware of
it. Also, our success was made possible only by working closely with many
others, and depended on the sustainable urban development principles of our
neighbourhood. All we did was to make a slightly larger commitment than
others in assembling various readily available cooperative opportunities and to
take advantage of the features of our city quarter.
I speak to you from our family’s perspective but the story is bigger than that.
It tells you about our city quarter, our communal house, parish and various
neighbourhood organizations. Key is also the high level of environmental per-
formance applied to the design of our city quarter – and the largely geothermal
energy-based DH system implemented by the local government. And our success
is testimony to the power of a national legislative framework, providing manda-
tory payments by utilities to individual renewable power producers – the im-
mensely successful German FiT that has taken so many countries by storm, mak-
ing it easy for families like ours to succeed almost effortlessly on our path to
being fully supported by renewable energy.
A good indication for how unspectacular 100 per cent renewable energy
supply can be is that we did not actually realize for almost five years that we
had already achieved this seemingly exalted status. Late in 2005, I looked for
a piece of information about the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) on the
homepage of Hans-Josef Fell, the Greens parliamentarian and co-author of the
German FiT legislation.
I knew Hans-Josef from the Working Group of Bavarian Solar Initiatives.

We had worked together in a group of activists to set up Bavarian FiT
legislation by referendum before Hans-Josef was elected member of the federal
parliament and became the main promoter of the now famous German feed-in
law, EEG. His homepage was known as an excellent source of information on
that topic. Here, on www.hans-josef-fell.de, I stumbled across his presentation
of his personal 100 per cent renewable supply system. When I read his claim
that he had achieved this goal, I grew curious. How far along were we
ourselves? I sat down, calculated and discovered to my delight that we had
exceeded 100 per cent since early 2001. I had been a renewable energy fan
since childhood and had done everything I could to make our way of living
sustainable, but I had not kept an account of our efforts until that moment.
In early 2006, a colleague made me aware of the German Energy
Conservation Competition run as part of the campaign ‘Our climate: In search
of protection’ by the co2online campaign in cooperation with one of the two
public television channels, ZDF. I sat down again, calculated more closely and
arrived at 113 per cent: 75 per cent in savings and 38 per cent in renewable
energy generation. We won the competition in the ‘tenant’ category, while nine
other winners had presented high rates of energy saving and renewable energy
use in single-family homes. The jury had appreciated that we had achieved
such a high goal through living in an unspectacular multi-family house that
was constructed within the financial limits of social housing. We did not have
the funds for a house and not even for setting up renewable energy
installations. There is no hidden expensive trick that enabled our 100 per cent
renewable energy supply – and that makes the difference to almost all other
cases. We hope that this will encourage many others to follow our example.
Box 16.1 Key messages

Our household achieved nominal surplus renewable energy generation status simply by
lowering energy consumption in electricity, heating and transport, new renewable power
purchases to cover remaining demand, plus local renewable electricity generation to help
compensate for the remaining fossil components in our energy consumption, in particular,
transport. Four ingredients were key to this: choosing the right neighbourhood to live in; using
readily available community-organizing techniques; picking cooperative models of solar power
asset ownership and generation; and having available the choice of true, new renewable
electricity purchasing arrangements. Our next hope would be to eliminate the use of oil in
transport altogether by our car-sharing organization switching to solar electric powered
vehicles and public transport switching to fully renewable energy supply – but that is not
within the reach of our decision-making powers.
HOW TO RAISE A RENEWABLE FAMILY WITHOUT EVEN TRYING 291
Cover the first base, the choice of neighbourhood: Communal

support and sustainable urban development are critical
Messestadt Riem at Munich’s eastern fringe is a model for a post-fossil, post-
‘airtropolis’ redevelopment: it occupies former Munich airport, although the
airport simply expanded on a new site to the city’s north. The small city centre
was conceived as a showcase for urban sustainability, using the state of the art
at the time. Ultimately, 16,000 people are expected to live in the area. Unlike
much of the rest of Munich, Messestadt Riem is home to lower than average
income groups and a higher than average number of children: precisely the sort
of population usually considered to be too deprived of income or means to
afford a ‘sustainable’ lifestyle.
The DH system is fed by a geothermal power station using heat from the
Upper-Bavarian hydrothermal stratum found 2700m below our neighbour-
hood. Eighty-five per cent of the heat consumed in the quarter comes from
geothermal energy and the balance is supplied by a natural gas-fed CHP
station and a natural gas peak electricity generator.
Figure 16.1 Residents

of our quarter sit down
for a meal at the Platz
der Menschenrechte
(Square of Human
Rights): On each plate,
an article of the
Universal Declaration
of Human Rights is
engraved
Source:
Helga Rätze-Scheffer
Figure 16.2 View of our city quarter from the top of our house with SOLNA PV plant in
front, and ecumenical church and shopping centre Riem-Arcaden in the background
Source: Michael Wippermann
Messestadt Riem was designed as a compact yet green urban quarter of short
walking distances and a high level of integration into the wider public
transport network. Individual car traffic is dramatically lowered and a number
of car-limited house communities are set up, among them the one where we
live. The inhabitants of these house communities declare in their agreements
that they will not own an individual car. Exceptions are possible, but the
number of cars per house is limited. As a result, the number of cars per person
is half of the area average, with the effect that traffic noise is non-existent and
there is an exceptional degree of safety for children playing in the streets.
Instead of owning an individual car, many inhabitants of these house
communities are members of one of the two car-sharing organizations in
Munich.
The urban design has three consequences for the energy balance of all area
inhabitants: the compactness of the buildings reduces heat demand, the high
level of public transport services and the car-sharing option lowers overall
transport energy and transport infrastructure (i.e. parking lots) demand, and
the DH network fed largely by geothermal energy ensures a high level of heat
supply from a renewable energy source.
Also helpful: Choose a cooperative living arrangement

The only way an average family with limited means can afford full renewable
energy supply is to organize and build on a network of wider community
support. There is no magic in the number 100 per cent, and neither does it
require iron discipline and perfection to achieve it. We exceeded 100 per cent
renewable energy supply despite the numerous compromises we had to make.
The keys to a renewable life are new or revived forms of networking and
cooperation. This message will become clearer when I specify our energy
savings and renewable energy measures. The community organization was
essential in achieving 100 per cent renewable energy supply. WOGENO e.G.,
the German acronym for housing cooperative, is one of several established in
Germany over the last two decades dedicated to social and environmental self-
governance. WOGENO was founded in 1993, and we joined in 1996 with a
group of people planning the construction of the house we live in.
Cooperatives are an alternative to owning and renting, a hybrid solution.
Cooperative members are owners, because they acquire a certain number of
shares, depending on apartment size and level of income. On average, shares
corresponding to about 10 per cent of the value of an apartment are held. A
member is also a tenant: a monthly utilization charge is due, the equivalent of
a rent. A cooperative apartment cannot be owned or sold, but the right to live
in an apartment can be bequeathed. This is a constitutional principle of our
housing cooperative whose main aim is to provide affordable living spaces for
all members of the community. In order to achieve this, living space must be
excluded from speculation and profit making. Housing rights are attributed by
an elected committee in charge of judging the priority order of candidates for
a specific apartment or transferred from occupant to occupant through
bequeathing only, since this does not boost a speculative inflation of asset value
or rents.
Life in a WOGENO house was the foundation for our most important
energy saving and renewable power successes. We would not have been able to
afford a house in Munich, and a standard rental unit would not have afforded
the necessary degree of control over one’s energy future.
What do we mean by 100%?

We combine energy savings and use renewable energies, and conservation is
the larger part in this equation. We consume 75.2 per cent less electricity, heat
and transport energy than an average German family of the same size. And the
renewable energy generation component in our family reduces our reliance on
fossil fuels by another 38.4 per cent of that notional average family
consumption level. The total adds up to our 100 per cent-plus performance.
We are also very conscious about reducing the embodied energy in our lifestyle
– but it is not included in this calculation. By ‘embodied’ we mean the energy
that was required to satisfy our daily consumption of goods and services: food
or clothing, for example, or what has been required to manufacture, transport
Figure 16.3 Our cooperative-owned multi-family apartment house consisting of two

buildings connected by a glass-covered bridge at the level of the second floor
Source: Michael Wippermann
Figure 16.4 Inhabitants contributing labour to house construction

(construction of bicycle sheds)
Source: Helga Rätze-Scheffer
and assemble the materials and components our building or cars are made up
of. More on that point later.
Our energy consumption and supply profiles do not match entirely. We
account for 4.66 times less than the reference family’s non-renewable energy
consumption level through saving measures and renewable energy
purchase/generation in the sector of electricity. Energy needs for room heating
are completely avoided, i.e. 100 per cent of non-renewable energy is being
abated in this sector. Energy for hot water is not conserved well, but 85 per
cent of it is renewably supplied. Comparable transport energy use is reasonably
well reduced at 50 per cent of the average wider area household, the rest is still
fossil-fuel based. As a last measure we offset our transport energy component
through surplus generation of renewable energy.
The offsetting of non-renewable transport energy through the surplus
production of renewable electricity matches the expected future development
of energy supply well: renewable energy generation from wind and
photovoltaic installations is developing so quickly that there will be surplus
electricity production at least from time to time and at local spots with many
generation facilities. This surplus production can be stored by a fleet of electric
vehicles. Given inexorably rising oil prices and a debate about the limits and
(non-)sustainability of biofuels this will be the only way to ensure individual
mobility in the mid term and long term.
Table 16.1 Energy consumption by our family in comparison to the German reference
family
Electricity Room Hot Transport Total
heating water energy
Reference family 5300 35,000 4000 20,000 64,300
Stöhr household 1800 0 3330 10,837 15,967
Energy saving 66% 100% 16.8% 45.8% 75.2%
Rest covered by renewable energies 1800 0 2831 663 5293
Rest covered by fossil energies 0 0 500 10,175 10,674
Part of renewables in purchased energy 100% – 85% 6.1% 33.1%
Non-renewable energy abatement through
saving + renewable energy purchase 100% 100% 87.5% 49.1% 83.4%
Generation of renewable energy in addition
to own consumption 19,405 – – – 19,405
Contribution of renewable energies to
non-renewable energy abatement 400.1% 0.0% 70.8% 3.3% 38.4%
Contribution of energy saving + renewable
energies to non-renewable energy abatement 466.1% 100% 87.5% 49.1% 113.6%
Contribution of each sector to non-renewable
energy abatement 38.4% 54.4% 5.4% 15.3% 113.6%
Note: The values in the first indicate the mainly non-renewable energy to be abated. All values in kWh. Percentages relate to a
German reference family of the same size, whose consumption pattern matches the German average for households for electricity
and heat, and for individuals in the transport sector.
Steps to 100% renewable electricity

Before engaging in the purchase and generation of electricity from renewable
sources, we focus on savings. We consume 66 per cent less electricity than a
German reference family.
The most simple ways of saving electricity are measures known for several
decades and yet, amazingly, are not yet widely adopted even in seemingly green
Germany: use of supremely efficient household appliances, cut-off of stand-by
electricity consumption by a connection plug board with a switch, and general
awareness and behavioural adjustment to the need to minimize electricity use.
Though efficiency is generally seen as a virtue, it is connected mentally to loss
of quality of life and thus its practical implementation is lagging far behind
what could be possible.
We do not know exactly why we save so much electricity compared to
other German families, but one key to achieving high energy savings in cities
lies in life in multi-family buildings, allowing not only the electricity
consumption of services but also the distribution of hot water to be shared by
28 households. Another key to savings is replacing electricity by hot water
whenever possible. So, our dishwasher is connected to the hot water tap. This
make an enormous difference since pre-heated water reduces or avoids the
need to heat water for dish-washing electrically. Food is often prepared in a
wall-mounted steam cooker, also connected to the hot water tap. Compared to
cooking a pot of water, much less water needs to be heated up and the
temperature difference that is to be overcome is much smaller.
Switching to 100 per cent renewable electricity supply is the easiest step of
all. In Germany, one only needs to choose a supplier who sells electricity that
is 100 per cent renewable. We have chosen a supplier that acts as an agency for
selling farm-produced renewable electricity.
It ensures that all our electricity comes from new renewable energy plants,
and thus that renewable electricity production actually increases.
Electricity saving and purchase of the remaining electricity that we
consume from a 100 per cent renewable electricity supplier brings our non-
renewable electricity abatement rate up to 100 per cent.
Surplus renewable electricity generation for off-setting fossil

transport energy
Citizen-owned photovoltaic installations set up with our neighbours
In addition to purchasing 100 per cent renewable electricity from
generation facilities owned by farmers, we are also owners of renewable
electricity generation plants, via shares in two photovoltaic installations
and a small share of a windpark. All three installations are citizen-owned
community installations. While the windpark was implemented by a
developer, we have organized the installation of the two photovoltaic
plants ourselves.
The first installation (SOLNA) was set up on the flat parts of the two
building parts that form our house; the second (SOLKIZ) was installed on
three roofs of the ecumenical church centre in our city quarter.
Figure 16.5 Members of SOLNA during a break off work installing a PV plant
Figure 16.6 Display panel

showing the yield of the
SOLNA PV plant in the
entrance area of our house
Source: Michael Stöhr
Table 16.2 Breakdown of our share of the electricity generation of different plants
compared to our energy/electricity consumption and the electricity consumption of a
German reference family
electricity in % of our in % of electricity in % of our
generation total energy consumption of electricity
(kWh) consumption reference family consumption
PV plant SOLNA 1900 3.0% 35.8% 105.6%
PV plant SOLKIZ 838 1.3% 15.8% 46.6%
wind park share 16,667 25.9% 314.5% 925.9%
19,405 30.2% 366.1% 1,078.0%
The SOLNA: ‘Solar Neighbours Riem’ private company

For the photovoltaic plant on our apartment building, 23 neighbours founded
the operation company SOLNA – Solare Nachbarn Riem GbR – the solar
neighbours Riem personal company – in 2000. SOLNA has purchased the
photovoltaic plant, operates and sells the electricity to the local electric utility
that pays the mandatory minimum FiT for solar electricity. The shares signed
by SOLNA members range from €250–2500. The small minimum share was
set to also allow inhabitants with little income to be a member of SOLNA.
Jointly, about €13,500 of equity (some $18,000 at the late 2008 exchange
rate) was put together and the balance was financed by a small lump sum
subsidy of the City of Munich and an interest-free loan from Kreditanstalt für
Wiederaufbau (KfW) (German Bank for Reconstruction).
The inhabitants of our house did not only participate financially, but
contributed also with personal labour to the realization of the photovoltaic
plant, providing ‘sweat equity’. The plant is operated on a voluntary basis.
We had to make a seemingly trivial but fundamental decision concerning
the position of the photovoltaic panels on our house, illustrating the
cooperative nature of our work. Should we put them on the large area of the
two roofs that are slightly tilted to the east, thus accepting a lower yield due to
non-optimum orientation and tilt, or should we put them on the flat parts of
the roofs, thus reducing considerably the roof area on which we could hold
gatherings, but ensuring a higher yield with well-oriented and tilt panels, only
reduced slightly by shading due to the higher rising parts of the roof system on
the eastern side? Finally, we decided on the latter. The flat parts of our roofs
became smaller terraces that are now very quiet places for those who seek a
retreat from the generally very active life in our house.
The SOLKIZ: Solares Kirchenzentrum Messestadt Riem GbR

The SOLKIZ photovoltaic plant was constructed in 2005 on the top of three
roofs of the new ecumenical parish centre in the Messestadt Riem, Munich,
which was finished in that year. It is almost three times larger than the SOLNA
photovoltaic plant, but has been set up exactly in pattern with SOLNA. Again,
we have founded a personal company, the SOLKIZ – Solares Kirchenzentrum

Messestadt Riem GbR (Solar Church Centre Messestadt Riem Personal
Company). The contractual and financial setup was similar to that of the
SOLNA plant.
Figure 16.7 Ecumenical church centre with SOLKIZ photovoltaic plant

seen from the church tower
Source: Gerhard Endres
Note: Photovoltaic panels are on three different roofs – left behind, centre and at the right out of picture
Within the first three years, the SOLKIZ photovoltaic plant has produced
47,400kWh, corresponding to 922kWh/kWp, a value that is higher than for
SOLNA but below the average yield of new photovoltaic plants in Munich.
Here, the reason is that the architect of the ecumenical church centre in the
Messestadt Riem requested that the photovoltaic panel should not be visible
from the ground (now also the reason why it is so difficult to provide good
photos of the installation) thus obliging us to keep a tilt angle of 5° on one roof
and 17° on two other roofs. This is much less than the optimum tilt angle at
the latitude of Munich, which is 28°. As a result, we yield less solar energy in
winter and a bit more in summer than a plant does that keeps the optimum
orientation and tilt angle. Over the year, we lose about 10 per cent of the solar
yield compared to an optimum plant. Here, old-fashioned ideas about the
incompatibility of photovoltaic panels and highly aesthetical architecture (and
the fact that the two churches did not request from the architect right from the
outset to integrate photovoltaic panels as an element of the church centre’s
building shell) compromised environmental efficiency.
The most important contribution: Bringing heat

demand down to zero
What surprises most people is that we do not need to heat any more. As
mentioned above, we live in a building cooperative house with 28 households
constructed in the cost limits of social housing, i.e. there is really no expensive
technology put in it. The building fits the energy consumption limits of a low-
energy house. However, the two parts of the building are large and almost
cube-shaped, i.e. have a very good ratio of surface to volume. This means that
the low-energy standard that is by definition a relative standard that depends
on the surface/volume ratio of the building, corresponds to a very low absolute
heat demand of only 36kWh per square metre a year. This is a direct
consequence of the compactness of our city quarter, which obliges builder-
owners to construct very compact houses. In comparison, single-family houses
can be declared as low-energy houses though the heat demand might be as high
as 100kWh per square meter a year.
In the planning phase, the sanitary and heating engineer worked out that
we could lower the heat demand of the building even further by installing
controlled ventilation with heat recovery in all apartments. This would have
allowed us to forgo heat radiators in all apartments. In this case, only a small
peak load heating system would have been needed that could have been a heat
pump integrated into the heat recovery of the controlled ventilation. However,
when this option was presented in the planning meeting of the future
inhabitants, several persons objected firmly to this idea. Some had had bad
experiences with air conditioning systems in offices and were afraid that
something similar was on offer. Hence, no consensus on the controlled
ventilation with heat recovery was reached, and a floor heating system was
installed instead. Here, the democratic principles of WOGENO compromised
the environmental efficiency that could have been achieved.
Nevertheless, WOGENO chose to provide the option for individual
families to install a controlled ventilation system with heat recovery, which is
normally conceived for refurbishment of existing buildings. This system is to
be installed in each room and consists of an opening (about four inches wide)
through the wall, which contains a tube with the heat recovering device and a
small fan (as used in personal computers) expelling and taking in air at 80
second intervals. Although the costs per room were steep (€1000 or $1340)
we chose that option for all five rooms in our 100m2 apartment and thus
reduced heating demand down to zero.
Thirty-six kWh/qm/yr is a theoretical value. The actual heat consumption
very much depends on individual heating behaviour. Actual heat consumption
– not considering us who do not heat at all – ranged from about 16–
160kWh/m2/year before we started a campaign on energy saving behaviour in
our house, i.e. varied by a factor of ten. The main difference is in the
ventilation behaviour of the inhabitants. People who do have intermittent
ventilation consume less than those who keep their windows always open
while the heat radiator is turned up to maximum. Contrary to some views,

there is no appreciable difference in indoor air quality.
We take showers as frequently as everybody does!

We may not heat our apartment by other than inherent and solar heat sources
(body heat, waste heat from electric appliances and direct solar radiation
through the windows), but we do not renounce the copious use of hot water. We
do take showers as often as ‘normal’ people do! In fact, we do not save hot wa-
ter use when compared to other households, despite hot water saving water taps
that are installed as a standard component of all bathrooms and kitchens in our
house. A main reason for this is that we use hot water to lower electricity con-
sumption: our dishwasher and the wall-mounted hot steam cooker are directly
connected to the hot water tap. But we also don’t waste water either.
However, as our house is connected to the DH network of our city quarter
Messestadt Riem, and the energy for providing our hot water is generated by
the mix of that heating network: 85 per cent geothermal energy and 15 per
cent natural gas, our hot water supply is predominantly based on renewable
energy. Again, this is not to our credit but is something we owe to the
sustainable urban development of the Messestadt Riem, which was decided by
the city council and the DH network that was built and is operated by the
municipal utilities.
Sustainable transport mix

In the transport energy sector, we consume about half the energy for our
private mobility needs of the German reference family. Here, we profit first of
all from the fact that we live in a large city with a well-developed public urban
transport network. In particular, the sustainable urban development of the
Messestadt Riem quarter has created short distances to schools, recreation
facilities, shopping etc.
Our average annual mobility pattern is shown in Table 16.3. First of all, it
is worth pointing out that we limit private air travel for the whole family to
only once in five years. This was the typical average for the last 10–15 years
and the usual destination was Southern Europe. Note that this air travel once
in five years accounts for about one third of our transport energy
consumption!
Most of our mobility demand is met by public urban transport – essentially
underground train for me going to the office – and railways. Only a small part
is met by cars. Yes, cars, not a car. As mentioned above, we have some 250 cars
at our disposal, being members of the car-sharing organization STATTAUTO
München, offering transport vans and small buses as well as a range of
passenger cars including mini, small and family cars. We book a car only three
or four times a year as the rest of our travel needs can easily be met by other
means of transport.
Table 16.3 Breakdown of our average annual mobility and related energy consumption
public urban railway car airplane sum
transport
person-km/yr 13,125 20,000 1100 4000 38,225
kWh/km 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.89 0.28
KW/yr 2625 4000 660 3552 10,837
% of renewable energy 10% 10% 0% 0% 6%
Difficult to calculate but very important: Embodied energy

There is a part of our energy consumption that we could not calculate and com-
pare to a German reference family: embodied energy. This means energy that is
needed for the production of goods that we use, for instance, for the installation
of our house. A modern low-energy house consumes about one third of its life-
cycle energy need during the construction phase alone. This energy is needed for
producing the construction materials and for the construction itself. There are
two ways of minimizing this energy: first, reducing the effective living space per
person and, second, proper choice of construction materials.
The WOGENO cooperative has set limits on the apartment area per person
and balances this by providing a number of collective facilities in its houses. This
comprises normally a community room for gatherings, a guest apartment and
one or more community rooms in the cellar. In our house, the community
rooms include two workshops in the basement floor, one for wood and metal
working and painting, another one for tailoring and finer works, as well as a play
room for children. In addition to that, we have set up community facilities such
as sheds for bicycles and gardening, a common playground between both
houses, next to our community room and the terrace in front of it, and the ma-
jor part of the garden is communal, including vegetable patches that are dis-
tributed to those inhabitants who want to grow vegetables.
The effect of the community facilities is that the effective living area per
person is reduced. This has two consequences for the energy need: first, the
area to be heated is reduced, thus reducing the heat energy demand, and
second, the embodied energy in the building is reduced!
The second way of reducing embodied energy in buildings, the choice of
construction materials with low energy embodiment, was only partially
followed in the case of our house. Energy saving steps included limiting the use
of bricks (450kWh/m3 embodied energy) and concrete (250kWh/m3) and
making much use of wood (5kWh/m3).
Closely related to the community facilities is the sharing of goods or serv-
ices that are not constantly needed and hence can easily be shared – provided that
people take care of community property, a prerequisite that requires a well-func-
tioning house community. Sharing of goods saves production energy for these
goods.
We save the major part of embodied energy by our limited use of cars: STAT-
TAUTO München keeps only 20 cars per member, thus cutting down the pro-
duction energy for cars by a larger factor (not exactly 20, because the cars are
run only for about a year, before being resold). The production of cars, and also
of parking lots, streets, etc., consumes a lot of energy and we cut down this pro-
duction energy – in exactly the same way as most of our neighbours do!
A further area where we save embodied energy is food. Almost all our food
comes from ecological production and most of is comes out of the region of
Munich. Further, we consume little meat, though we are not entirely
vegetarian. Hence, we get positive indicators for all factors that play a role in
the energy consumption of food production: eco-agriculture saves energy
embodied in mineral fertilizers and plant protection chemicals; regional food
sources saves transport energy; a low level of meat consumption saves energy
because feeding plants to animals before using animal products for human
nutrition multiplies the energy requirement; and seasonally grown food in
open fields needs less energy than food grown in glass houses. As a result, our
embodied energy consumption for food is far lower than the German average
– as it is for most of our neighbours who have similar consumption patterns.
The cooperation and networks that allow us to achieve these positive
indicators are among others: Tagwerk GmbH, a company for the regional
marketing of eco-food delivered weekly to the households, UNSER LAND, a
regional food marketing network and company for agricultural products from
the region, selling mainly eco-food, and a local eco-food shop.
Finally: Quality of life!

Well, finally, I do not want to say in words that living with 100 per cent
renewable energy goes hand in hand with a high quality of life. Instead I will
let the pictures of life in our house and in our city quarter speak for themselves!
Websites
Building cooperative WOGENO: www.wogeno.de
City quarter Messestadt Riem: www.messestadt-riem.de
Pictures of Messestadt Riem: www.endres-bildung.de
100 per cent renewable electricity: www.naturstrom.ag
Our windpark: www.windpark-saar.de
Solares Kirchenzentrum Messestadt Riem – SOLKIZ GbR:
www.sankt-florian.org
Geothermal heat in Messestadt Riem: www.swm.de
Car sharing: www.stattauto-muenchen.de
Organic food from the area: www.unserland.info and www.tagwerk.net
German Climate Protection Campaign: www.c02online.de
Figure 16.8 A typical scene in the Messestadt Riem: The ‘Promenadenfest’ (promenade
festival) where everybody contributes to the buffet and everything is shared
Figure 16.9 A child’s birthday party in our community room

Figure 16.10 The terrace and play ground extend the community room outdoors: Here,
many gatherings and parties take place
Figure 16.11 The annual cooking party in the community room of our house has become a
tradition: Each participant prepares a part of the menu and all taste it together
Figure 16.12 Another party on top of the roof of our house: Despite the PV installation,
there is enough space left to gather
Figure 16.13 Cooking

with the sun: Barbara
Fredmüller prepares food
with her solar cooker
Chapter Seventeen
100% Renewable Life: One Man’s
Journey for a Solar World
Martin Vosseler
Crossing the Atlantic with 100% solar energy

Imagine – waking up in a narrow hull of a solar catamaran, in a cove of the
Rhine River near the German/Dutch border, on a foggy October morning. The
air is filled with bird voices. When I crawl on deck I see thousands of wild
geese, taking off in groups for their flight south, flying in V-shape formation.
Or imagine a clear night on the Atlantic. The dog star is so bright that its light
is reflected like a golden ribbon on the dark velvet of the ocean. Suddenly a
splashing sound – a dolphin’s back emerges. The animal is dancing around our
boat. Where it passes fluorescent algae are lighting up – microgalaxy floating
in the dark waters.
What a wonderful unique planet we are living on: the perfectly shaped ball
is exactly the right distance from the sun so we don’t burn and don’t freeze. It
is exactly the right size so the water of the sea, the rivers and the lakes doesn’t
disperse into the universe. It has this awesome ‘skin’ of air – four to five miles
of air with oxygen – that allows us to breathe and to live – a very thin layer, a
distance that can be walked in less than two hours; and the sun, a powerful
nuclear fusion reactor safe distance to Earth, sends us all the energy that we
need.
During our Atlantic crossing on the solar catamaran, Sun21, we become
aware of the multitude of miracles that make this planet Earth possible. We
also realize how vulnerable this unique life system is. We witness sea pollution
and the depletion of the maritime fauna; but we learn at the same time how
well the combination of renewable energy and energy efficiency works!
What does it take to cross the Atlantic with the energy of a hairdryer or an
iron? Six Swiss dreams that come together.
Mark Wuest, solar boat constructor for more than 20 years, dreams of
crossing the Atlantic with such a catamaran. David Senn, marine biologist,
dreams of making an Atlantic ‘Transsect’ – to examine a plankton sample
every day during an Atlantic crossing. Beat von Scarpatetti, historian and
Figure 17.1 The solar catamaran Sun21 in Miami, Florida

Source: Dylan Cross
founder of the ‘Swiss Club of Carfree People’, dreams of putting his feet on US
ground without a drop of oil. Michel Thonney has crossed the Atlantic already
several times on sailboats. He dreams of doing it again, applying his navigation
skills to a pioneering adventure. Daniela Schlettwein, a Swiss medical doctor,
uses her financial resources to support ecological projects. She dreams of
making an unusual solar project possible, after decades of promoting
renewable energy and energy efficiency. I prepare for my SunWalk 2008 –
walking through the US for the promotion of 100 per cent renewable energy. I
have the dream to cross the Atlantic in a sustainable way and, at the same time,
to promote 100 per cent renewable energy with this adventure.
Sometimes things fall into place very quickly when dreams come together.
In December 2005 we decide to go ahead with the project. On 16 October
2006 the then Swiss President, Mrs Micheline Calmy-Rey, christens the boat in
Basel – and off it goes starting for its seven-month journey to New York City.
Basel – Rotterdam – Seville – Canary Islands – Martinique – Miami – New
York City, where we arrive on 8 May 2007. The actual crossing from the
Canary Islands to Martinique takes 29 days.
Box 17.1 Sun21

Solar catamaran Sun21: 46 feet long, 22 feet on the beam. Draft: 3 feet. Weight: 12 tons. Two
‘LEMCO’ electro motors, 8 kW each, with an efficiency of 90 per cent. The solar energy is
harvested by two 5kW modules (about 65m2) that are located on a roof installation. We have
0.8 tons of lead acid batteries in each hull, 48V DC. The propellers are made out of carbon.
Maximum speed: about 9 knots (about 16.5km/hour). Constant speed: about 5 knots (about
9km/hour) 24 hours a day. There is cabin space for five people, a kitchen and a bathroom.
ONE MAN’S JOURNEY FOR A SOLAR WORLD 309
We can demonstrate with this journey that if we come down from our high
energy waste level, if we combine it with high energy efficiency, renewable
energy is sufficient for our energy needs. We have travelled from Europe to the
US with an average of 1700W, the power that a hairdryer or an iron needs – a
12t boat, five adult men, five computers, all instruments, a refrigerator, ten
cabin lights, four position lights, a motor for the anchor and a satellite phone,
all travelled thanks to the 90 per cent efficiency of the two electro motors that
propelled the boat. Travelling on this boat is very comfortable – no noise,
almost no vibrations and no exhaust fumes; therefore the dolphins like to visit
us and we can sleep on the boards that cover the motor.
Towards 100% renewable energy: Step by step

On 1 April 1975, the construction machines arrive in Kaiseraugst – 9 miles
from the centre of Basel, Switzerland – for the construction of a nuclear power
plant. Hundreds, later thousands of people – from all age groups, professions
and political parties – become involved in the non-violent resistance against
this project. The territory was occupied. The construction was stopped. In
1988, the project was abandoned.
Kaiseraugst was the beginning of my involvement with clean energy. Later,
as a research fellow at Harvard Medical School in Boston, I was a student of
Bernard Lown, the founder of IPPNW (International Physicians for the
Prevention of Nuclear War, who were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 1985). I
learned about the connection between atomic weapons and nuclear power and
started the Swiss chapter of IPPNW in 1981. We invited David Freeman to
Switzerland. He started a successful energy efficiency programme as the CEO
of the Tennessee Valley Authority and cancelled several nuclear power plant
projects.
I tried also to make my life more energy efficient. I stopped driving. I
disconnected my 16th century house in the mountains from the electric grid for
two years and lived with the old wood stoves and with candles. Later I made
good roof insulation and installed a solar water heater and a heat pump in the
mountain house, and a solar water heater and wood pellet heating in a small
wood house that I let to people. I bought solar electricity for my houses. I
became a vegetarian 20 years ago. I stopped flying. But the biggest joy I
discovered was walking.
The joy of walking

In 1999 I walked from Konstanz, Germany, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain;
in 2003 from Basel, Switzerland, to Jerusalem. The motto was ‘There is Enough
Sun for All of Us’. I walked through the US, from Los Angeles to Boston.
Walking is a very simple way of travelling with renewable energy fuelled
by food. I experience it also as a prayer with body and soul, connecting with
Mother Earth, step by step. I discover how healthy walking is – if everybody
walked one to two hours a day, didn’t smoke, only drank moderately and ate
Figure 17.2 Sunwalk 2008: Martin Vosseler in Los Angeles on 2 January 2008
Source: Brad Graverson, Daily Breeze
a healthy diet, we could close a considerable part of our hospitals. I experience

that what is good for me is good for the planet. When I walk all my senses are
open: I see so many miracles of nature. After some weeks of walking I
experience the curved shape of our planet and enjoy the feeling of walking on
this amazing life ball. During my walks I live very much in the ‘here and now’.
The days are filled with surprises – I never know what landscape will appear
behind the next bend, where I will find food, where I will stay for the night and
whom I will meet. On my walks I meet many helpful, hospitable people. I
encounter them at a personal level; and there are many opportunities to
exchange opinions, ideas and visions about our energy future.
I think of the lady owner, with red dyed hair, in a purple robe, in a full
restaurant of a small town in central France. ‘Une table pour le pèlerin!’ (‘a
table for the pilgrim!’) she shouts into the room. They bring a small table and
they serve a delicious four-course vegetarian dinner, ‘on the house’. And after
the meal she addresses the whole crowd: ‘I am not only a restaurant owner, you
know, but also an opera singer; and I will sing a song for this pilgrim’. And she
sings with her wonderful voice: ‘Pèlerin, suit mon chemin!’ (‘Pilgrim, follow
my path!’).
I recall Ahmed and Sanae in Sarayçik in the Turkish mountains. I arrive at
dusk. It’s cold with a flurry of snow. I ask a shepherd where the Muhtar, the
town president, lives. ‘There, in the house with the green roof.’ I knock at the
door: ‘I am on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Do you know a place where I could
stay for the night?’ Ahmed invites me into his house. Sanae brings a table cloth
ONE MAN’S JOURNEY FOR A SOLAR WORLD 311
and spreads it on the floor. She brings a variety of delicious dishes. Then she
prepares their sleeping room for me. She makes a big fire in the stove and
prepares the bed. And soon I am dreaming in the warm bed listening to the
singing stove.
It’s a very hot day in Virginia. In Lacey Springs, Conny parks her car in
front of me. She brings me a big cup of cool spring water and a plastic bag with
ice and a towel. From then on I wipe my face every half an hour with the icy
water.
100% renewable energy and energy efficiency: Number 1 priority

As a doctor I face situations where only one action is needed, individually and
globally, for example, if a patient suffers from an arterial bleed there is only
one thing that has to be done immediately – stop the bleeding, 100 per cent. If
somebody has a cardiac arrest the life saving measure is to restore a heart
rhythm that guarantees a sufficient blood circulation – without any delay.
I see climate change as a life threatening process at the global level – the
symptoms include extreme weather conditions, rising sea level, reduction of
the Gulf Stream circulation. A climate collapse may become possible. There is
no cure for such a serious condition; therefore all efforts have to be invested
into prevention. Burning fossil fuels contributes to global warming; this kind
of energy production is not compatible with the Earth’s life system. The same
is true for nuclear power – enormous risk potential and radioactive waste. The
‘medical prescription’ is clear: 100 per cent renewable energy and energy
efficiency.
From centralized energy production to a global energy democracy

We are living in a transition time. The biggest part of energy production today
is still controlled by a relatively small number of big corporations. The future
will be different. In a decentralized energy democracy each citizen can become
an energy producer.
The following argument can still be heard often: ‘it will be difficult to
replace a big part of fossil fuels and nuclear energy by “alternative” energy’.
‘Alternative’ energy – is it really alternative? Without ‘alternative’ energy it
would remain dark in the morning. The temperature on this planet would be
minus 240ºC. There would be no precipitation, no water and no food. There
would be no life, no animals, no plants and no human beings. Earth would be
a cold, black, dead planet.
‘Alternative energy’? No, main energy! Basic energy! Renewable energy!
Solar energy! Without this main energy nothing would live, grow, move. Next
to 100 per cent of the Earth’s energy that we use is solar energy. It provides the
conditions for life, for food, for water, for growth and movement. The so-
called ‘conventional’ energy forms such as oil, gas, coal and nuclear power
provide less than 1 per cent of the Earth’s energy needs. In less than an hour
Figure 17.3 Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1 March 2008

Source: John Schaefer
the sun sends the energy onto the planet – or in one year onto 10 per cent of
the Sahara’s surface – that corresponds to the world’s total power
consumption.
What can we do? Sixty per cent of the so-called ‘conventional’ energy we
use today is wasted. Optimal energy efficiency can replace these 60 per cent
already. The remaining 40 per cent can be substituted by renewable energy that
is available in abundance – if we are determined to do that. We have all the
technical means to harvest renewable energy. This change of our energy system
is a huge opportunity for the world’s economy as well. Millions of jobs will be
created – jobs that make sense.
The new energy democracy needs the cooperation of all people on this
planet and the political framework that favours renewable energy and energy
efficiency. Not everybody can walk or go to sea for several months at a time.
But everybody can figure out what individual steps they can make possible;
after having read an interview about my SunWalk in the Navajo Time, a lady
in a supermarket in Window Rock, NM, recognized me. She tells me: ‘I read
about your SunWalk. I told myself: “if this 59 year old man can walk 3700
miles from LA to Boston, I can also walk from my home to the supermarket.”
So this morning I walked for the first time to work and actually, I enjoyed it
very much.’
More and more people believe in the transition to a 100 per cent renewable
energy future and help to prepare it with their own steps. Together, with awe
and enthusiasm for our miraculous planet, we will make it.
Index
Abu Dhabi 55, 243–244 Austria 29, 122, 123–124

see also Masdar City see also Güssing; Mureck
Acciona Solar 126, 127, 128, 129 Austrian National Investment Fund
accountability 19 122
accounting, energy 14, 265–267, automotive industry 7, 218–219, 221,
282–283 281–282
AC grids 37 aviation 42–43
Afalilo (Samoa) 98 awareness campaigns 114, 125, 131
Agassi, Shai 39, 225–226, 228
agriculture see farming/farmers Baden-Würtemberg (Germany) 30
air conditioning systems 110, 128, 149, Bailey, J. 274
151, 210, 233, 269, 272, 273, 300 Bangladesh 25
air quality/pollution 4, 16, 125, 130, banks/finance institutions 20, 109, 227,
133, 144, 205, 209, 233, 301 281, 283, 298
Algeria 37 Barcelona (Spain) 79, 188, 190
Alzey-Worms (Germany) 184 batteries 38, 39, 99, 206, 207–208,
ambient heat 252 226–227, 308
American College and University charging points for 208, 209, 215,
Presidents Climate Commitment 221, 226
(2008) 268 exchanging 226
Amsterdam (Netherlands) 27 BedZed 9
Anaheim (California, US) 18 beef, long-haul 11
animal protein see meat production behavioural economics 269–270
animal waste 104, 116, 121 Bellevue, Club de 53
in biogas schemes 133–137 Berlin (Germany) 34–35, 251
Antonietti, Markus 62 Better Place concept 11, 29, 39, 221,
Aran Islands (Ireland) 102 225–228
Architecture 2030 Challenge (2008) 268 battery exchange system 226–227
Asia 82, 83 investment in 226
auctioned permits 12, 14 bicycles 91, 220
Ausra 17, 18 electrified 209, 302
Australia 25, 55, 98, 131, 213 biochar 12, 62, 69
Better Place in 29, 227 bioclimactic architecture 128
coal dependency of 17, 60 biodiesel see biofuels
marine energy in 67 biodiversity 21, 147
photovoltaics in 67 bioenergy 6, 29
supergrid in 37 villages 177
wind power in 66, 216, 217 biofilters 124
biofuels 21, 22, 23, 42, 98, 101, 105, constraints on 238–239
121–122, 205, 284 cooling systems in 232–233
cooking oil as 121, 122 and education 235
emissions from 124 and employment 234
ethanol 112, 113–114, 284 energy saving in 229, 232–233, 237
and food production 69, 252 environmental benefits of 233
pan-European project for (RENEW) future of 239
110 horizontal rooftop greenhouses
promotion campaigns 114, 125 234–235
biogas 12, 39, 72, 96, 98, 116–117, 123, hydroponic see hydroponics
129, 177 need for 229, 230
challenges with 118 and public health 231, 233–234
cooperative production of 121 PV systems in 233
costs 118 vertically integrated greenhouses
and emissions reduction 136 (VIGs) 236–238
and fertilizers 136 buildings, low energy 87, 89–90, 91, 104,
gasification process 107, 108–109 128, 139, 145–150, 188, 252, 283
household production 133–137 and 100% renewable household 293,
and sanitation 133, 136 300
subsidies 135 and Architecture 2030 Challenge 268
biomass energy 30, 31, 33, 37, 71, 98, challenges to 271
105, 142, 258–259, 277 costs of 92
costs 50 NREL 276–278, 283
exports 120 orientation/footprint factors 145, 147,
land used for 254, 255, 257 148, 245, 266, 277
in networks 71, 72, 78, 79, 107 and renovation standards 89–90, 256
pollution from 130 ZEB 265–267, 274
see also straw-based heating businesses and renewable energy 12, 75,
biomethanization plants 127 256–257, 258
bioplastics 69 Butoni 101
black liquor 127
blackouts 22, 61 C40 Initiative 88
boat, solar powered (Sun21) 307–309 California (US) 17, 18, 38, 193, 194,
Boise (Idaho, US) 18 213, 226, 227
Bonn (Germany) 55 Sonoma County case study 278–279
Booth Sweeney, L. 269–270 Canada 44, 88, 213, 231, 232
Boston (Massachusetts, US) 88 Canary Islands see El Hierro
Boulder (Colorado, US) 213, 271–274 cap-and-trade arrangements 12, 14
Climate Action Plan 272 Caparroso (Spain) 127, 129
smart grid initiative 272–274, 281 Cape Light (Massachusetts, US) 29
Brandt, Willy 52 carbon capture and storage see CCS
Britain 169, 231, 232 carbon credits 20
distributed generation in 31 carbon dioxide (CO2) see greenhouse
wind power in 28, 66, 217 gases
zero carbon homes policy in 12 carbon emissions 1–2
see also London; Woking carbon-neutrality 7
Building Energy Management System 152 carbon offset schemes 12, 13
building-integrated agriculture 45, 147, carbon sequestration 2, 12
229–240 carbon tax 14–15
benefits to buildings of 233 carbon trading 11, 21, 26
carbon emissions of 233 see also ET
INDEX 315
cars see automotive industry; electric renewable strategies for 27–29, 45,
vehicles; vehicle ownership 87–92, 229, 251–262
car-sharing/carpools 284, 290, 292, 301, urban sprawl 2, 43–44
303 Cities and Climate Change 24
Carter, Jimmy 41 Cities for Climate Protection (CCP)
Castilla-La Mancha region (Spain) 188, 24–25
189, 194 civic partnerships 23, 28
Catalonia, Solar 196–201 clean coal 21, 26, 27–28, 60
Catalonia (Spain) 78–79, 80–81, 187, Clean Development Mechanism 13
189, 190, 196–199 climate change 1–3, 52, 61–62, 71
100in 196–199 and cities 87, 88–89
nuclear power in 191 greenhouse gas levels 2–3
policy measures for 199–201 IPCC reports 88
resistance to renewable energy in 194, and migration 4
195, 196 see also greenhouse gases
wind power cooperative in 191–195 Clinton Climate Initiative 45
CCP (Cities for Climate Protection) CNG (compressed natural gas) 156, 157,
24–25 205, 219
CCS (carbon capture and storage) 60 CO2 see greenhouse gases
see also clean coal coal 59–60
CEA (controlled environment agriculture) clean 21, 26, 27–28, 60
see building-integrated agriculture mining 9, 20
certificate laws 66 prices 60
Chernobyl disaster (1986) 52 shortages 61, 71
China 24, 26, 30, 61, 168, 227, 239 coconut oil 98, 101
renewable energy investment in 82, cogeneration plants 12, 30, 45, 72–73,
83 123, 175
see also Shaanxi Province costs 118, 152–153
CHP (combined heat and power) 90, Colorado Climate Action Plan (2007) 269
113–114, 121, 123 Colorado State University 274, 275
case studies 150–155, 291 Colorado (US) 271–278
cities 12, 23, 24–33, 273–274 combined heat and power see CHP
agriculture in see building-integrated Combi-Plant scheme 177, 183
agriculture; urban agriculture commercial sector see businesses
air quality in 209 communications 98, 99, 146
carbon-neutral see Masdar City community participation 12, 19, 23,
car dependency in 43–44, 220–221 105–106, 114, 118–119, 139, 181,
and climate change 87, 88–89 283–284
community-internal systems 29–33 see also cooperatives; hundred per
compact 45, 253 cent renewable community
emission reduction initiatives in compact cities 45, 253
88–89 concentrating solar power (CSP) plants
as energy constructs 31–33 36–37, 188
geothermal energy for 17–18 controlled environment agriculture
land use in 251–252, 253–255 (CEA) see building-integrated
renewable energy investment in agriculture
259–260 conventional power supply industry 49,
renewable energy options for 57, 62
252–255 costs/risks in 50, 52, 59
renewable energy potential in and energy security 6, 57
256–262 and ET 13
green lip service by 20, 27–28 economic crisis 2, 59, 63

lobbies/vested interests for 20–21, 57, economic growth 2
68 economic rationalism 50
reserve capacity/oversupply in 3, 11, Ecotècnia cooperative 191–195
211, 216 ecotourism 105, 110–111, 125, 159
cooking oil recycling 121, 122 Eco-Viikki (Helsinki, Finland) 145–150
Cook Islands 98, 101 area described 145
cooling systems 110, 123, 175 building design in 145–146, 147, 148
cooperatives 119, 120, 176, 191–195, challenges/lessons from 148–150
289, 293, 297–299 community involvement in 146
and 100% renewable household ecological criteria for 147
291–293, 296, 300, 302 energy savings in 149
origins of 192 funding for 148
Copenhagen (Denmark) 27, 29 international involvement in 147
corporate social responsibility (CSR) 6 PV systems in 145–146
Covenant of Mayors 88 residency types in 149
crop rotation 122–123 solar heating systems in 146, 147,
CSP (concentrating solar power) plants 148
36–37, 188 education 24, 25, 63, 69, 100, 133, 235
CSR (corporate social responsibility) 6 and access to electricity 98, 99, 101
cycling 91, 220 renewable energy 110, 113, 114, 119,
124–125
Dardesheim (Germany) 183 EEE (European Centre for Renewable
Daxu stoves 30 Energies) 106, 110, 111
DC power links 17, 22, 37 EEG see Renewable Energy Act under
de Cuellar, Perez 53 Germany
DeENet (Competence Network for efficiency measures 9–11, 16, 27, 28, 75,
Decentralized Energy) project 173, 103, 108, 128, 131, 256, 263, 278
179 see also buildings, low energy;
deforestation 4, 21, 133 insulation
Delaware (US) 28 Egypt 55
democracy and renewable energy 4, 196, electricity demand 210–212, 215–216,
200, 201–202 265–267
dena grid study 33 electricity generators 210–211, 216
Denmark 27, 29, 31, 128, 168, electricity price 15, 67, 215
191–192, 212 electric vehicles 15, 23, 29, 30, 38, 39,
see also Samsø; Thisted 45, 69, 177
DESERTEC 37 advantages of 205
developing countries 2, 23–24, 45, and air quality 205, 209
233–234 batteries for see batteries
FiTs in 168–169 challenges with 105
DH (district heating) systems 29–30, 90, charging points for 208, 209, 215,
91, 103–104, 107, 108, 139–140, 221, 226
146, 148–149, 175 in city strategies 90, 91
in 100% renewable household 289, and electricity industry 210–218
291, 292 hybrid see HEVs
combined 12, 30, 45, 113–114, 117 manufacturing 7, 205, 218–219, 221,
geothermal 155–159 226–227
diet and renewable energy 11 policy implications for 219–221
distributed generation 31 in renewable energy systems 73, 103,
diurnal rhythm 3 259
INDEX 317
standards in 221 European Solar Prize 106, 112, 116,

V2G (vehicle to grid) potential of 120, 126, 137
206, 213–218, 259, 262 European Union (EU) 69, 74, 98–99,
see also Better Place concept 101–102, 109, 122, 147
El Hierro 93–97, 102 Eurosolar 53
biogas project on 96 Everding, Dagmar 32–33
environmental issues in 94, 96 EWG (Energy Watch Group) 57, 61, 71
photovoltaic energy on 96 ExWoSt (Experimental Housing and
renewable energy plan for 94–96 Urban Development) study 252–254
solar thermal energy on 94, 95
transport plan for 94, 95 facilities management 131
wind-hydro power on 94, 95, 96–97 farming/farmers
emissions trading see ET and biogas schemes 133–137
employment and renewable energy 15, biomass energy 50, 96, 107, 108,
16, 63, 65–66, 75, 92, 105, 107, 110, 117, 121–122
124, 130, 183, 234, 312 crop rotation 122–123
energy accounting 14, 265–267, intensive 4, 69
282–283 organic 12, 69, 114, 133, 136, 142
energy compacts 29 transportation costs 229, 230, 239
energy crisis 49–50, 57, 59 urban see building-integrated
energy flows 1 agriculture; urban agriculture
energy intensity 196–199 water use for 94, 229, 278–279
energy policies and wind power 138
nuclear 51 fee-bate schemes 15
renewable excluded from 52 feed-in tariffs see FiT
see also renewable energy policies Fell, Hans-Josef 289–290
energy security 6, 57–69, 85, 124 fertilizers 114, 117, 123, 127, 133, 136
Enquete Commission (Germany) 74–75 Fiji 98, 101
entrepreneurs 181, 225–226 Finland 146
environmental audits 152 see also Eco-Viikki
environmental footprint 10 FiT (feed-in tariffs) 15–16, 17, 45, 51,
EREC (European Renewable Energy 62–63, 65, 66–68, 108, 131,
Council) 9 167–170, 289
ERJ (Energy Rich Japan) study (2003) in developing world 168–169
64, 75–77 grid access in 67
ESCO (environmental service company) premium 168
model 151, 153 FOE (Friends of the Earth) 134–135
ET (emissions trading) 12–15, 26, 62, food prices 69
63, 221 food production
ethanol 112, 113–114, 284 and 100% renewable household 303
EURATOM (European Atomic Energy and biofuels 69, 252
Community) 51, 52 centralized/corporatized 4
Europe meat 11, 69
power grids in 33, 36–37 self-sufficient 24
renewable energy system scenario in transportation costs 229, 230, 239
(LTI) 73–74 urban see urban agriculture
wind energy in 17 food security 229, 230, 231
European Association for Renewable forestation 1, 2, 12, 62, 133, 134
Energies 53, 126 forestry 112
European Centre for Renewable Energies Fort Collins (Colorado, US) 274–276
(EEE) 106, 110, 111 Fort Royal (Virginia, US) 270
fossil fuels see also Jühnde; Munich

dominance of 8–9 Global 100 ECO-TECH Award 106–107
and waste 4 globalization 4–6
see also coal; oil Golden (Colorado, US) 276–278
Foster and Partners 244, 245, 280 Google 39
France 53, 98, 169, 192 Gore, Al 2–3, 39, 42, 54
Frankfurt/Main (Germany) 89–90 Greater Gabbard project 28
Freeman, David 309 greenhouse gases 8, 62, 84–85
Friends of the Earth (FOE) 134–135 mitigation targets 88, 252, 268–269,
fuel poverty 153, 169 272
fuel switching 98 sustainable levels 2–3
see also climate change
gasification 107, 108–109 Güssing (Austria) 28–29, 106–111
gas networks 71 awards for 106–107
gas turbines 72 biodiesel production in 107, 108
Gelsenkirchen (Germany) 257 biogas plant in 107, 108
genetic engineering 69 DH system in 107
Georgian Bay (Canada) 44 economic driver in 107–108
geothermal energy 1, 6, 17–18, 19, 27, ecotourism in 110–111
37, 71, 128, 252, 258 efficiency measures in 108
land used for 254, 255 employment/industry in 106, 107,
in renewable energy systems 71, 78, 110
79, 137, 291, 292 energy costs in 109, 110
Reykjavik case study 155–159 farmers in 106, 110
Germany 29, 32–33, 63–69, 252, 254, FiTs for 109
257–261 investment in 109
building regulations in 89–90, 256 lessons from 109
CCS investment in 60 model 107
Combi-Plant scheme in 177, 183 PV/solar thermal plants in 107
DH systems in 30, 90
efficiency legislation in 33, 45 Harz model region (Germany) 183
FiT in 15–16, 51, 168, 169, 170, 289, HCT (hydrothermal carbon biochar
290 technology) see biochar
model regions in 182–184 health centres 98
political parties in 68, 69 heating/cooling systems 69, 72–73, 103,
power grids in 36–37, 39, 40 105, 123, 257–258
regional development in 173–184 see also DH (district heating) systems
regional guidelines for 180–181 Helsinki see Eco-Viikki
Renewable Energy Act/EEG (2000) Hermansen, Søren 103
64, 66, 67, 68, 168, 174, 289, 290 HEVs (hybrid electric vehicles) 206–207,
renewable energy employment in 284
656–6, 85 fuel efficiency of 208–209
renewable energy networks/systems in NEVs 284
74–75, 85 parallel/series 207
renewable energy potential in plug-in see PHEVs
256–261 regenerative braking in 207
renewable family in see household, Hofbauer, Hermann 108
hundred per cent renewable household energy use 7, 12, 73, 77,
solar energy in 34–35, 176–177 114–115, 257–258
wind energy in 17, 33, 66, 176–177, 100% renewable see hundred per cent
217 renewable household
INDEX 319
housing sector 75 hundred per cent target

efficiency standards in 89–90, 256 achievability of 8–9, 11–12, 16–17,
Hubbert, Marion King 2, 42 64, 71–85, 180–181
human evolution and renewable energy integrated model of 179–180, 285
3 model regions for 182–184
hundred per cent renewable community necessity of 50, 311–312
263–286 in regional approach 173, 174, 176,
building as (ZEB) 276–278 179–184
defined 264–267 hydrogen fuel cells 103, 151, 153,
direct/indirect energy use in 267 156–157, 159, 205, 284
energy use measurement in 265–267 hydrogen, solar 71, 72
financing approach to 270, 278–279 hydroponics 98, 229, 231–232, 234, 236
goal setting in 268–269 benefits of 231
goals not met in 269 hydropower 6, 27, 33, 37, 67, 156, 252,
human behaviour in 263, 269–270, 255
283 environmental issues with 158
incremental savings approach to in renewable energy systems 71, 78,
263–264, 270–274 79, 177
phased/pragmatic approaches to small scale 99, 101
274–278 see also wave power
planned/designed see Masdar City
planning examples 270–281 IAEA (International Atomic Energy
planning gap in 263–264, 268–269 Agency) 51, 52
research areas/analysis tools for 270, IBM 39
283, 285–286 Iceland 156
six steps towards 281–285 see also Reykjavik
visionary approaches to 278–281 ICLEI (International Council on Local
ZED approach 274–276 Environmental Initiative) 24–25, 88
hundred per cent renewable household IEA (International Energy Agency) 52
289–306 oil price forecasts of 57–59
building factor in 293, 300 IFC (International Finance Corporation)
CHP system used by 291 99
and community-owned installations import/excise taxes 15
290, 296–299 incomes 99, 100
and cooperative 291–293, 296, 300, India 168
302 indigenous people 1, 23–24
DH system used by 289, 291, 292 industrial age, oversupply in 3, 11, 211
electricity supplier for 296 industrialization 4–6
embodied energy use by 293–295, Industrial Revolution 23
302–303 industrial sector 75, 159
energy consumption of 293–295 infrastructure systems 1, 23, 264, 265,
energy savings of 293, 296 281
food sourcing by 303 renewable energy see renewable
heat demand of 300–301 energy networks/systems
hot water use of 295, 296, 301 and urban sprawl 2, 43–44
internet support for 303 see also power grids
lifestyle changes for 293–295 innovation 15, 16
PV systems used by 292, 296–299 policy 28, 263
steps to 290, 296 Institute of Applied Systems Analysis 53
transport demand of 292, 295, Institute for Local Self-reliance 273–274
301–302 institutional reform 19
insulation 104, 105, 131 thermal solar energy in 114

integrated design 179–180, 285 wind power in 112, 113
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Japan 55, 64, 75–77, 107, 227, 281–282
Change see IPCC photovoltaics in 66–67
International Award for Sustainable Johansson, Thomas 53
Energy 132–133 Jones, Allan 151, 152
International Energy Agency see IEA Jühnde (Germany) 116–120
International Finance Corporation (IFC) award for 116
99 biogas plant in 116–117
International Parliamentary Forum on challenges in 118–119
Renewable Energies (2004) 54 community participation in 118–119
International Renewable Energy Agency DH network in 116, 117
see IRENA energy savings/income in 117
internet 38–39, 73, 148 investment in 118
Interparliamentary Conference on the planning process in 118
Global Environment (Washington, population 116, 119
1991) 54 renewable energy portfolio of 116–117
investment 6, 16, 23, 60, 67, 103, 104,
118, 122, 128–129, 218–219 Kempton, W. 216
and citizen participation 259–260 Kenya 169
risk 15, 51 Kiribati 98
see also under renewable energy Kissinger, Henry 52
networks/systems knowledge transfer/sharing 69, 123–124
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Kyoto Protocol 21, 144, 187, 268, 271
Climate Change) 2, 88 flaws in 26
IRENA (Inernational Renewable Energy
Agency) 49, 52, 53–55, 69, 244 La Maddalena (Italy) 102
islands see El Hierro; Pacific Islands; Lambert, C. 269–270
Samsø landfill waste 42, 104, 127, 157, 279
islands, renewable energy see renewable land use 251–252, 253–255
energy islands legal aspects 33, 45, 63, 64–69
Israel 11, 29, 225–226, 231 Lenzen, M. 267
Israel Corporation 226, 227 Liechtenstein 55
Italy 102, 213 lifecycle costs analysis 270, 283
see also Varese Ligure lifestyle changes 9–10, 45, 293–295
ITC (Technical Institute of the Canary lighting 99, 101
Islands) 95 Li-ion batteries 207–208
IZNE (Interdisciplinary Centre for Linz (Austria) 29
Sustainable Development) 117, Little, A. M. 269–270
119 local government 2, 12, 15, 25–29, 135,
148
Jämtland (Sweden) 111–115 see also Woking
awards for 112 localized energy systems 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11,
biomass energy in 112–114 12, 23, 45, 71, 174
challenges/problems in 115 five strategies for 27–29
employment/industry in 112, 113 see also cities
geography/population 111–112 London Array 28
household pellet project in 114–115 London (UK) 28, 88, 251
hydro-power in 112 long fossil energy chains 7
renewable energy education in 113, LTI (Long-Term Integration) project
114 73–74
INDEX 321
manure see animal waste electricity cost in 121

maps, deriving 258, 259, 260–261 emissions reductions in 124
market forces 67, 174–175 employment in 124
marketing 119, 123, 124–125 energy exports of 120, 121, 124
Masdar City (Abu Dhabi, UAE) 9, 239, investment in 122
243–250, 251, 278, 280–281 renewable strategy evolution in
building loads in 249 121–122
building/street models in 246, 247 social/economic guidelines in 125
cars banned from 246–247, 280
challenges with 280 Nabouwalu 101
changes in plan of 249 Nabua 101
climatic design in 245, 280 Nairobi Conference (UN, 1981) 52
design concept/goals of 243–245, Nantucket Sound initiative (US) 29
249–250 National Zoological Park (Washington,
energy saving in 249 US) 270
irradiation/shade in 248–249 natural gas 33, 59, 108, 152, 284
lessons from 280–281 see also CNG
and ten sustainability principles 245 Navarre/Navarra (Spain) 125–132
ventilation in 246–248 awards for 125–126
Mauritius 169 biomass plants in 127, 129
Mayors, Covenant of 88 challenges in 129–132
Mayors, US Conference of 268 efficiency measures in 131
MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) employment in 128, 130
2, 45 evolution of renewable energy in
meat production 11, 69 128–129
media 114, 159, 290 geography/population 125
Melbourne (Australia) 88 international involvement in 131
Messestadt Riem (Munich, Germany) investment in 128–129
291–292, 298–299, 301 public–private partnerships in
methane gas 104, 110, 112, 133 131–132
Mexico 231, 232 solar power in 126, 127, 195
migration, and climate change 4 training/research in 130
Milagro (Spain) 128, 129 wind farms in 126–127, 128–129,
Milligan, M. R. 216–217 195–196
Mills, David 17 Netherlands 36, 231
mining 9, 20 NEVs (neighbourhood electric vehicles)
mission statements 177–179 284
mobility patterns 91 New York City (US) 88, 229–230, 233,
Moezzi, M. 269–270 236
monitoring 8, 14, 124 NGOs (non-governmental organizations)
Monte Alto Solar Garden (Spain) 128, 135, 196
129, 131 non-abatement countries 13
Munich (Germany) 12, 18, 27, 28, 87–92 North Africa 36–37
carbon reduction strategies for 89–91, North Sea 33, 36, 90, 182
292 Norway 36
Messestadt Riem 291–292, 298–299 NREL (National Renewable Energy
Mureck (Austria) 120–125 Laboratory, US) 276–278, 283
award for 120 nuclear power 1, 3, 14, 51, 59
biomass/CHP plants in 121 costs/risks of 52, 61
cooperative system in 120, 121, 123 decommissioning of reactors 27
ecotourism in 125 lobbies/vested interests for 20–21, 61
protests against 309 uptake rate 218

see also uranium V2G and 214–218, 219
Philippines 97
Obama, Barack 14, 29, 33, 41 Phoenix (Arizona, US) 44
Oberland (Germany) 183–184 photovoltaic systems see PV
ocean acidity 8, 21 pollution 3, 4, 13, 133, 138, 147, 205
OECD countries 52, 83, 84 credits 13, 20
oil crisis (1973) 52, 57–59 public health costs of 16, 136
oil economy 4, 6, 9 see also air quality/pollution; water
oil prices 58–59, 63 pollution
oil production 57–59 poverty 4
see also peak oil fuel 153, 169
oil wars 9, 16, 63 power grids 21–22, 33–39
One Planet Living 9, 244 and electric vehicles 206, 213–218
one-planet living 9–11 and FiT laws 67
OPEC 54 fluctuations in 210, 211–212
Osnabrück (Germany) 33 renewable 36, 39
Östersund (Sweden) 112, 113 smart see smart grids
Ould-Abdallah, Ahmedou 53 supergrids 33–37
oversupply 3, 11, 211 and virtual power plants 38, 39
power lines 17, 38, 41, 157
Pacific Islands 97–101 Poznan climate talks (2008) 2–3
biofuels on 98, 101 pre-industrial society 23
electricity demands/access on 98, 99, private sector 125, 131–132
101 privatization 19, 27
environmental issues on 100 public health 16, 98, 99, 101, 147, 231,
funding agencies on 98–99, 100 233–234
hydroelectricity in 98, 101 public–private partnerships 28, 30,
installation/maintainance challenges 131–132, 151, 154, 181
on 99–100, 101 public transport 45, 91, 95, 103, 105,
market barriers on 100 127, 146, 220, 280, 283–284, 292
policy challenges on 99–100 challenges with 105
PV systems on 98, 101 renewable fuel for 156, 157, 205
renewable energy model for 98–99 PV (photovoltaic) systems 9, 64, 71,
wind power on 100–101 119, 153, 177, 252, 277
Pacific Renewal Energy Programme 98–99 and 100% renewable household 292,
Palau 99 296–299
Pamplona (Spain) 125, 127, 128, 191–192 and CEA 233
Papua New Guinea 98 fluctuations in 210, 211, 212
partial renewable systems 11–12, 18 hybrid 98
peak oil 2, 4, 8, 57–59, 71 installation/maintainance of 101
pedestrians 91, 95, 220, 284, 309–311, intelligent systems 128, 131
312 investment 129
Pelosse, Hélène 55 land used for 254, 255
Peres, Shimon 226 roof/facade installations 12, 45, 96,
Perth (Australia) 44 98, 151, 254, 257, 258, 273
PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) solar cells 110
38, 207, 208–209, 210, 212, 273,
279, 284 R&D (research and development) 15,
and electricity infrastructure 218–219 20–21, 63, 111, 155, 157, 169,
payback period for 214, 215 201, 207, 245
INDEX 323
Rahmstorf, S. 174 storage in see renewable energy

rapeseed oil 105, 107, 120–123, 127 storage
and crop rotation 122–123 ‘supply on demand’ sources in 73, 77
Reagan, Ronald 41 virtual power plants in 73
REC (renewable energy certificate) weather forecasting and 72, 75,
trading 15 211–212
regional development 173–184 see also power grids
case studies see Güssing; Jämtland; renewable energy policies 12–22, 64–67,
Navarre; Shaanxi; Thisted 195–201
‘ideal region’ 177–179 for electric vehicles 219–221
integrated model of 179–180 and implementation 51, 263
renewable community see hundred per and scenarios/studies 74, 196–199
cent renewable community see also FiT; local government; tax
Renewable Energies World Outlook incentives
2030 79–84 renewable energy storage 22, 38, 73,
renewable energy 96–97, 279
costs/savings 50, 68 see also batteries
decentralized/autonomous 6, 11–12, renewable energy targets 1–2, 6–9
29, 174–175 100% see hundred per cent target
democracy 4, 196, 200, 201–202 calculating/monitoring 8
and development 43–44 and carbon trading 11
excluded from discourse 52 challenges to 18–22
feasibility studies of 53 pledges 7–8
growth in 64–67 Renewables2004 conference 54
imports/exports 36–37, 183–184 RENEW project 110
investment see investment Reno (Nevada, US) 18
macroeconomic benefits of 50–51 research and development see R&D
microeconomic benefits of 51 Reuyl, J. S. 273, 281
range of technologies for 71 Reykjavik (Iceland) 18, 155–159
transition to 84, 85 challenges/lessons from 157–159
renewable energy agencies see IRENA eco-tourism in 159
renewable energy credits 277 energy savings/surplus in 157, 158,
renewable energy islands 11–12, 18, 21, 159
22 financing projects in 156–157
connecting 29, 30 geography/population 155–156
renewable energy networks/systems 71–85 hydroelectric plants in 156, 158
Catalonian scenarios (SolCat) 78–79, public transport in 156
80–81 renewable fuels in 156, 157
costs 78, 79 RGI (Renewables Grid Initiative) 36
European scenarios (LTI project) Rio Conference (1992) 53–54, 147, 152
73–74 Rotorua (New Zealand) 18
fluctuations in 72, 73, 77, 80–81, 96, Rotterdam (Netherlands) 29
210–212, 213, 215–218 rural/remote locations 98, 99
German scenarios 74–75 Russia 33
intelligent consumption/production in
72–73 Sacramento (US) 27
investment in 75, 78, 79, 82–84, 85, Samoa 98
254 Samsø (Denmark) 101–106
Japanese scenarios (ERJ study) 75–77 award for 102
Renewable Energies Outlook biogas projects on 104
scenarios 79–84 DH systems on 103–104
five goals for 103 in renewable energy systems 78, 79

investment in renewables for 103, 104 see also PV; solar thermal power
as model renewable energy island Solar School 110
101–102, 105 solar thermal power 12, 17, 36–37, 38,
renewable energy plan for 102–104 44, 71, 90–91, 105, 127, 146, 258,
transport sector on 103, 105 277
wind power on 103 cost challenges with 115
San Fransisco Bay Area (US) 29 costs 78
Sangüesa (Spain) 127, 129 in DH systems 30
sanitation 133, 136 promotion projects 114
Scheer, Hermann 7 SolCat study (2007) 78–79, 80–81
Schellnhuber, H. J. 174 SOLNA/SOLKIZ PV plants 297–299
Schwarzenegger, Arnold 17 Sondershausen (Germany) 258, 259,
Scotland 36, 157 260–261
SEEG (South Styria Cooperative for Sonoma County (California, US)
Energy and Protein Production) 278–279
120–121, 124, 125 South Africa 61
self-sufficiency 11 Spain 64, 66, 79, 91, 127–128, 129,
sewage 30, 96, 239, 252, 259 187–202, 231–232
Shaanxi Province (China) 132–137 100% renewable measures for
awards for 132–133 199–201
challenges/lessons from 135–137 current situation in 187–190
community participation in 133–134 energy imports of 187
education in 133, 135 FiTs in 168, 188
funding model in 135 Innovation Plan/CDTI in 192–193
social conditions/poverty in 133 regional development in 188–189
solar heaters in 133, 135 renewable energy laws/targets in
Sharm-el-Sheikh (Egypt) 55 187–188, 194
Sherman, J. D. 269–270 solar energy in 188
silage 107 wind power in 188–190, 191–195
smart grids 37–39, 206, 212–213, 219, see also Catalonia; Navarre
221, 266, 272–274 spatial perspective 175
smart meters/appliances 213, 273 Stanford University (US) 17
Smithsonian National Zoo (US) 270, Stern Review (2006) 168
283 straw-based heating 103–104, 127, 131,
soil management 6, 69 137, 138
carbon sequestering 12, 14 street lighting 99
see also biochar Strömsund (Sweden) 113
Solar Catalonia 196–201 Stuttgart (Germany) 257
solar catamaran (Sun21) 307–309 subsidies 17, 114–115, 129
solar cells/tiles 107, 110 fossil fuel 15, 16, 63
solar economy 9 sugar cane 169
solar gardens 127–128 sulphur pollution 13
solar power 6, 23, 71, 90, 126, 127, 309 Sun21 (solar catamaran) 307
concentrating (CSP) 36–37, 188 Sunflower project 134–135
imports/exports 36–37 sunset schemes 12, 14
intelligent systems 128, 131 SunWalk 309–311, 312
large-scale installations 17, 22, 27, supergrids 33–37
28, 34–35 sustainable development 1–2, 23
networks 71 ten principles of 245
potential of 63–64 Sustainable Energy Europe (EU) 112
INDEX 325
Sweden 112, 114, 115, 213 UNESCO 94

see also Jämtland Union of Concerned Scientists 53
Switzerland 307–308, 309 UNISEO (UN International Sustainable
Sydney (Australia) 88 Energy Association) 170
United Nations (UN) 51, 53–54
tax incentives 17, 63, 100, 104, 131, renewable energy conference
140, 144, 218, 227 (Nairobi, 1981) 52
technological development phase 167 United States (US) 18, 26, 29, 44, 55,
Tekes (Finnish National Technology 88, 98, 228, 230, 231
Agency) 146, 147 energy consumption in 272
terrorism 38 energy crisis in 41–42
thermal capture technology 169 financial crisis in 2
Thisted (Denmark) 137–140 lifecycle costs analysis in 270
award for 139 local energy generation in 27
building design in 139 NREL 276–278, 283
challenges/lessons from 140 nuclear power in 51, 52
community participation in 139 power grids in 33, 36, 38, 39, 213
cost savings in 140 renewable community case studies in
DH system in 137–138, 139–140 271–281
ecotourism to 140 targets in 268–269
electricity generation in 137, 138–139 wind energy in 17, 193, 194
finance of scheme 138, 139 see also Boulder; California; New
geography/population 137 York City
model 137, 139–140 universities 268, 270–271, 283
transport in 139 UNSEGED (UN Solar Energy Group on
Three Mile Island disaster (1978) 52 Environment and Development)
Thuringia (Germany) 257–261 53–54
tidal power see wave power UNU-GTP (UN University Geothermal
Tomic, J. 216 Training Program) 157
Torcellini, P. 265 uranium 6, 11, 20, 27, 37, 49, 57, 61,
Toronto (Canada) 88 112
tourism 101, 105, 112 scarcity 71
Toyota 207, 208, 281–282 urban agriculture 45, 147, 253–254, 257
trade relations 11 see also building-integrated
training see education agriculture
TRANS-CSP project 36–37 urbanization 229, 230
transition economies 83 urban prototypes 256–261
transnational corporations 13, 21 urban sprawl 2, 43–44
transport 1, 4, 75, 139, 183–184 utilities, municipal 27–28, 281, 285
and 100% renewable household 292,
295, 301–302 V2G (vehicle to grid) 206, 213–218,
challenges with 105 219, 259, 262
FiTs and 169 Vanuatu 98
public see public transport Varese Ligure (Italy) 141–145
vehicle ownership 7, 45, 284, 285, biomass use in 142
292 challenges/lessons from 143–144
see also automotive industry; electric community participation in 144
vehicles energy savings/surplus in 144
Tudela (Spain) 127–128, 129 energy strategy of 141–142
Tuvalu 98–99 funding in 142
Tvind School (Denmark) 191–192 geography/population 141, 142, 144
hydroelectricity in 143 fluctuations in 210, 211, 212,

incentives in 143–144 216–217
solar power in 142, 143 hybrid systems 98
waste management in 142, 143 investment in 103
wind turbines in 141–142, 143 in renewable energy systems 78, 79,
Vattenfall Europe Transmission 36 90, 177
vehicle ownership 7, 45, 284, 285, 292 wind turbines 128–129, 130, 139, 168,
see also car-sharing 169, 183
virtual utilities 28, 38, 39, 73 cooperative development of 191–195
location of 253
Walker, A. 270, 283 WOGENO cooperative 293, 300, 302
walking see pedestrians Woking (Surrey, UK) 11, 31, 150–155
waste 4, 11, 96 awards for 151
compost/methane gas from 127 challenges/lessons from 153–155
incineration 137, 138 DH system in 153
recycling 152, 252 efficiency measures in 152
water consumption 94, 229, 230 energy savings in 154
water desalination 94 financing projects in 152–153, 154
water pollution 8, 21, 71, 133, 136 geography/population 150
water power see hydropower renewable fuels in 152, 154
water-saving 146, 147, 152 women’s associations 133–137
water treatment/recycling 12, 142, 148, wood fuel heating 12, 30, 31, 103–104,
151, 252, 278–279 107, 108, 112–114, 116
wave power 43, 67, 98 challenges with 115
weather forecasts 39, 72, 75, 211–212, costs/savings 113
216–217 promotion projects 114, 115
WEO (World Energy Outlook) 57–59 World Bank 99, 135
willingness to pay 79–82 World Energy Globe Award 120
Wilpoldsriet (Germany) 29 World Future Council 24
windfall profits 13, 20 WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) 9,
wind farms 12, 17, 22, 27, 28, 29, 64, 36, 244, 245
275, 296
wind power 6, 66, 71, 113, 139, 277 ZEB (zero-energy building) 265–267,
challenges in 129–130 274
and energy storage 96–97 ZED (zero-energy district) 274–276
environmental issues with 100, 130 Zurich (Switzerland) 88

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100% Renewable — Edited by Peter Droege

essays provide a roadmap for delivering

Earthscan strives to minimize

First published by Earthscan in the UK and USA in 2009

Editorial © Peter Droege, 2009

All rights reserved

Typeset by FiSH Books

For a full list of publications please contact:

22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA

Earthscan publishes in association with the International

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

This book was printed in the UK by CPI Antony Rowe.

Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 per

This is absolutely nothing to do with emissions trading, this is

List of figures, tables and boxes ix

1 100% Renewable Energy: The Essential Target 1

viii 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action

x 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action

2.1 Delegates at the International Parliamentary Forum on Renewable

LIST OF FIGURES, TABLE AND BOXES xi

6.7 The production of biodiesel by rapeseed in Mureck 120

xii 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action

14.6 General strategy of deriving maps depicting the potential for

LIST OF FIGURES, TABLE AND BOXES xiii

xvi 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action

Professor of Environmental Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS xvii

xviii 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS xix

Regional Planning (BBR) in Bonn, Germany. He has been in charge of the

Josep Puig i Boix

xx 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS xxi

LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS xxiii

DLR German Aerospace Center

xxiv 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action

mb/d million barrels per day

LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS xxv

UNSEGED United Nations Solar Energy Group on Environment

Renewable power – foundation for human evolution

2 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action

dioxide (CO2) concentrations will have to be lowered by at least 25 per cent

Notes to a renewable future

THE ESSENTIAL TARGET 3

4 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action

Raising a phoenix from the planet of waste

From an age of fossil-fuelled mechanization to a responsive era of

THE ESSENTIAL TARGET 5

6 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action

shocks (Homer-Dixon, 2009). The fossil-fuelled world is a world of tragic

Facing a conversion investment challenge

What is the effect of the 100% renewable target?

THE ESSENTIAL TARGET 7

automotive industry that this is not a matter of taking a business-as-usual fleet

100%: A target to end all targets

8 100% RENEWABLE Energy Autonomy in Action

Yes, we can – and we must

THE ESSENTIAL TARGET 9

the renewable category, according to serious world energy statistics (USGS,

Reduced demand and greater efficiency aims are important but